Ange Postecoglou played down the furore around Ben White's "sh*thousery" on Guglielmo Vicario during Arsenal's win against Tottenham last Sunday.
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White tried to ruffle Vicario during set-piecesPostceoglou not bothered by the incidentSpurs seek clarification from PGMOL on rulesWHAT HAPPENED?
White was directed to unsettle Tottenham's goalkeeper, Vicario, during set-pieces, especially in corners. The defender did a fine job of obstructing his movement and disrupting his ability to reach the ball which allowed his teammates to attack the deliveries more fiercely. As a result, both of Arsenal's first-half corner kicks resulted in goals – the first scored as an own goal by Pierre-Emile Højbjerg and the second a header by Kai Havertz, securing a 3-0 lead for the visitors at halftime. Despite White's repeated acts of sh*thousery, the referee, Michael Oliver, did not penalise him for any foul.
AdvertisementGettyTHE BIGGER PICTURE
Postecoglou responded to the incidents by assigning Pape Sarr to closely mark White during Arsenal's subsequent corner kicks. This tactical adjustment aimed to neutralise White's disruptive presence and prevent further goals conceded by Tottenham – but was not enough to prevent a 3-2 loss against their eternal rivals.
WHAT POSTECOGLOU SAID
When Postecoglou was asked if White had been cheating or practising dark arts he said: "It’s a strategy. You can label it but it’s a strategy. I’m not casting judgment. If people are going to think that’s going to give them an advantage or whatever … I don’t worry about that stuff. I just try to focus on building teams that win things.
“If it’s not going to be that then it’s going to be something else. I know it’s great theatre. Whether he [White] is trying to undo his glove, tickle his armpit or whatever … I don’t care. I try to get my players not to focus on that stuff. If you want to go down that avenue … what’s he [Vicario] supposed to do? Throw a punch and knock him out? Or say: ‘Please don’t touch me?’ What does that do? Seriously, we’re not in the schoolyard. To be honest, if I saw one of my players do it, I’d be saying: ‘Mate, seriously? Get the ball and play some football.’”
DID YOU KNOW?
Postecoglou also expressed his bewilderment regarding the interpretation of fouls on goalkeepers, revealing that Tottenham sought clarification from the Professional Game Match Officials Limited [PGMOL] on the rules.
“I watched the Champions League tie between Bayern Munich and Real Madrid [on Tuesday] and there was a couple of times they went in on the keeper and it was a foul straight away,” Postecoglou said. “It is a weird one for me. You’re allowed to reach out [to the referees’ body]. We just wanted some clarity on what the actual position is on interference on the keeper. I’m ancient and I always thought that the keeper was a bit of a protected species. Maybe that’s shifted now and I missed the memo. Did I get clarity? No, not really.”
