Tottenham Hotspur manager, Ange Postecoglou, has been in contact with the PGMOL after last weekend’s North London derby, and has been asking for clarity on how goalkeepers are or are not protected in today’s game.
The North London derby ended in defeat for Tottenham on Sunday, with Arsenal running away 3-2 winners at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Unfortunately, the game was plagued by VAR controversy once again, with Spurs having a goal ruled out for offside and a penalty claim turned down. On top of this, one of Arsenal’s goals came from a corner at which Guglielmo Vicario appeared to be impeded by Ben White.
It continues a trend throughout Premier League games this season where Vicario has been targeted by opposition players from set-pieces, leading to a number of goals against Spurs.
Postecoglou wants clarity from PGMOL
Ange Postecoglou has not taken the latest incident laying down, though, and told Football.London recently that he has reached out to the PGMOL (Professional Game Match Officials Limited) to discuss the protection goalkeepers can expect nowadays.
He said: “You’re allowed to reach out to them. They’re not a hidden society. I’m sure all the clubs do. We seek clarification in case certain things have changed, You never know. We just wanted some clarity on what the actual position is on interference on the goalkeeper.
“I’m ancient, mate, but I always thought that the goalkeeper was a bit of a protected species. Maybe that’s shifted now and I missed the memo.”
Spurs Web Opinion
If the rules have changed, then this needs to be broadcast throughout the league, to the media, and to the fans. If the rules haven’t changed, then goalkeepers are being let down by referees who are failing to protect them from overly-physical interference at set-pieces. Either way, clarity is very much needed.
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