Ange Postecoglou knows ‘he'll get called out’ as he confirms Tottenham complaints

Ange Postecoglou says Tottenham have sent videos to referees’ chiefs to seek clarification over what constitutes a foul on goalkeepers.

The Spurs boss, who also claimed proposals to introduce sin bins would “destroy” the sport, has been left frustrated by goalkeeper Vicario being put under pressure from set pieces - leading to goals conceded in last weekend’s draw away to Everton and the FA Cup defeat to Manchester City.

Postecoglou says goalkeepers had been considered a “protected species” inside the six-yard box until recently - but something has changed and he is keen to find out both what and why.

And asked if he has spoken to match officials about Vicario being allegedly fouled, the Australian delivered a lengthy sermon.

“I haven’t,” he said. “I struggle with that stuff. Like I’ve said before, I’ve kind of always been the one who says you’ve got to respect the referee’s decision or the umpire’s. But I think we have sent some stuff to [PGMOL] to get some clarification.

“I’m going to get called out for this, but there was a thing that was quite evident in the game that the goalkeeper was a protected species. I don’t think that’s just me making that up.

“The reason people used to say that was that if you really impeded a goalkeeper in any way in the six-yard box, you are going to get a foul. I knew that as a player, I knew that as a manager.

“There seems to be a shift there. Somebody will say to me that the rules haven’t changed but I think there’s been a shift there, where now, to me, it’s obstruction.

“If you’re standing in front of a goalkeeper stopping him before a ball has even arrived, in layman’s terms that’s obstruction. Now someone is going to tell me that that’s not a law either, it wouldn’t surprise me. But it was