Ange Postecoglou feels the heat in prickly interview with Sky Sports reporter as he's quizzed on VAR and asked why he cupped his ear to Spurs fans in defeat at Chelsea

Ange Postecoglou was near fielding uncomfortable questions and accusations of disconnect with Tottenham supporters connected Thursday nighttime aft his broadside slumped to a 1-0 decision astatine Chelsea.

The Australian was progressive successful a frosty post-match interrogation with Sky Sports and attempted to downplay a infinitesimal during the 2nd fractional erstwhile helium appeared to cupful his receptor successful the absorption of the distant extremity astatine Stamford Bridge.

The motion came successful the contiguous aftermath of Pape Matar Sarr's long-range onslaught successful the 69th minute, which looked to person brought Spurs level until a lengthy VAR reappraisal ruled it retired for a foul by Sarr connected Moises Caicedo successful the build-up.

Just moments earlier that, Postecoglou had substituted Sarr connected for Lucas Bergvall - a determination that was met with boos from the travelling fans, immoderate of whom besides chanted: 'You don't cognize what you're doing.'

Seemingly successful response, Postecoglou turned toward the distant conception and cupped his ear. But erstwhile questioned astir the motion by Sky Sports' Patrick Davison, helium insisted it had been misinterpreted.

'Yeah, I wanted them to beryllium happy, mate,' Postecoglou said. 'We'd conscionable scored a cracking goal. So I wanted them to cheer – due to the fact that they haven't had a batch to cheer about.'

Asked whether the motion was a nonstop absorption to his substitutions being booed, Postecoglou replied: 'It's not the archetypal clip my substitutions person been booed. If you followed my tenure, it's not the archetypal time. They're allowed to boo. But I wanted them to cheer – due to the fact that I thought it was a cracking goal.'

Davison pressed again: 'You said successful the week – successful your interrogation with Mark Schwarzer – that you felt you'd mislaid a information of the fans. Is that what we saw tonight?'

Postecoglou bristled: 'I get it, Pat. You're trying truly hard. That's fine. You've already decided what the result is.'

Davison aboriginal attempted to support Postecoglou connected broadside by telling him: 'There's nary agenda.'

The interrogation besides saw Postecoglou reiterate his distain for VAR.

'It's sidesplitting the game, mate. It's not the aforesaid crippled it utilized to be,' helium said. 'We each sat connected our couches past nighttime and watched TV – I warrant you, if Jarred Gillett was the VAR past night, we'd person got a antithetic outcome.'

The 'last night' Postecoglou referred to was Wednesday's Merseyside derby astatine Anfield, wherever Liverpool bushed Everton 1-0. During that match, a unsafe situation by James Tarkowski connected Alexis Mac Allister lone resulted successful a yellowish card, contempt VAR concisely checking whether the on-field authoritative had been excessively lenient.

The deficiency of VAR involution shocked pundits and fans alike, portion the PGMOL adjacent aboriginal admitted that Tarkowski should person been sent off.

'You conscionable don't cognize what you're going to get,' Postecoglou continued, inactive fuming astatine Sarr's disallowed goal. 'We waited for six minutes for thing that seemingly the VAR thought was wide and obvious. It's madness, mate.'

Davison asked if helium believed the VAR determination to disallow Sarr's extremity was wrong. Postecoglou pushed back: 'Look, Pat, you tin effort and unit maine into a corner.'

Davison: 'I'm not trying to unit you into anything.'

Postecoglou replied: 'Did you deliberation past nighttime was wide and obvious? How galore minutes did it instrumentality this referee to fig retired whether it was wide and obvious? In your basal cognition of quality vocabulary – "clear and obvious" – what does that suggest to you?'

Davison admitted: 'No, it's possibly not wide and obvious. I bash deliberation it's a foul [by Sarr], if I'm honest.'

Postecoglou: 'OK. Right. Well, determination you go. So the referee didn't spot it. He past needs to spot it for six minutes, but you get the close result truthful you're blessed – and that's wherefore the game's going the mode it is. And I conjecture radical similar you volition proceed to beryllium blessed sitting connected your couches waiting for six minutes for wide and evident stuff. That's fine. I don't hold with that, but that's fine.'

Davison attempted to decorativeness connected a affirmative by looking guardant to adjacent week's Europa League quarter-final archetypal limb against Frankfurt: 'You saw capable for Thursday? Because the play hinges connected that ultimately, doesn't it?'

Postecoglou shook his head: 'No, no. We've got to get Sunday archetypal [against Southampton successful the Premier League]. We've got to spell up connected Sunday. I deliberation it's important that we proceed to play.'

Former Spurs skipper Jamie Redknapp, moving arsenic a pundit for Sky, said present was nary uncertainty the ear-cupping motion signalled hostility betwixt Postecoglou and the club's fanbase.

'He made a mates of substitutions and I don't deliberation it went down excessively good with the Tottenham fans,' Redknapp said. 'And I deliberation erstwhile they scored, it looked similar helium cupped his hands to the Spurs fans arsenic if to say, "Well, listen, I cognize better."

On the post-game scenes, Redknapp added: 'Normally, he'd beryllium implicit determination clapping them. There's a disconnect betwixt the 2 astatine the moment.

'It's not perfect for the manager. But he's got immoderate large games ahead. He's conscionable got to support his caput up.'

Former Chelsea defender Gary Cahill besides sensed superior strain.

'There's surely a vexation with the manager and the fans,' Cahill said.

'Honestly, I person to beryllium honest: they were dreadful today. I didn't spot a wide crippled plan. No shots connected people by half-time. He's got to beryllium disappointed.

'There's wide friction there, you tin see.'