Ange Postecoglou refutes claims of mocking Tottenham supporters after the loss to Chelsea.

Angé Postecoglou has downplayed suggestions that he was taunting Tottenham Hotspur’s travelling supporters during their 1-0 defeat at Chelsea.

The match saw Enzo Fernandez score a headed opener for Chelsea, and Spurs thought they had equalised through Pape Sarr’s long-range effort. However, the goal was ruled out after Sarr was deemed to have fouled Moises Caicedo in the build-up.

Before the video assistant referee (VAR) intervened, Postecoglou appeared to cup his ear towards the travelling fans, who had booed Sarr’s introduction just five minutes earlier. The Spurs boss, however, dismissed the gesture, stating: “It’s incredible how things get interpreted. We’d just scored, I wanted to hear them cheer. I wanted them to get really excited.”

He added, “If people want to read into that that I’m making a point about something, they can. I felt at that point we could potentially go on and win the game. I just felt momentum was going our way.”

On the fans’ reaction to Sarr’s introduction, Postecoglou remarked, “It doesn’t bother me. It’s not the first time they’ve booed my substitutions or my decisions. That’s fine, they’re allowed to do that, but we just scored a goal, we just scored an equaliser.”

Speculation regarding Postecoglou’s connection with the fans intensified at full-time when he remained near the halfway line instead of approaching the away end to applaud the supporters. This came after chants of “you don’t know what you’re doing” were directed at him during the match.

Addressing those chants, Postecoglou said, “It just doesn’t affect me. If that’s what the fans feel and if they feel that I’m not doing a good job then they’ve got every right to express that. They pay their hard-earned money and they follow the club here. They’re the ones that will be here long after I’m gone, so it doesn’t affect me. What I kind of try and focus on is the things I can control.”

The defeat leaves Spurs languishing in 14th place, without a win in their last four Premier League games, having lost three of those matches. According to Squawka, Postecoglou has now become the first Spurs manager to lose each of his first four league games against Chelsea.

The Australian expressed his frustration with the decision to disallow Sarr’s strike, claiming that VAR is “killing the game.” Referee Craig Pawson, advised by VAR to review the pitchside monitor, overturned his initial decision after multiple replays of the challenge.

Discussing the incident, Postecoglou told Sky Sports: “It’s killing the game, mate. It’s not the same game as it used to be. You don’t know what you’re going to get, you’re standing around for 12 minutes, it’s killing the game. But nobody cares about that. Everyone loves the drama and controversy. I’m sure there will be a 24-hour debate about it. I’m not interested in it really.”

Tottenham will look to bounce back as they host Southampton this weekend, followed by a home game against Eintracht Frankfurt in the UEFA Europa League, which will be broadcast live on TNT Sports and discovery+.