An apoplectic Ange Postecoglou admitted that he was the "angriest" he has ever been after a match following Tottenham Hotspur's 2-1 home loss to Newcastle United in the Premier League.
The Lilywhites were condemned to their third loss from four top-flight games at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, where Dominic Solanke's opener was cancelled out by Anthony Gordon and Alexander Isak in the first half.
Tottenham came into the lunchtime kickoff ravaged by injuries and an illness bug which had swept through the camp, forcing Postecoglou to hand 25-year-old goalkeeper Brandon Austin his first appearance for the club and to deploy Djed Spence and Archie Gray as the second-half central pairing.
The Lilywhites performed valiantly in the second half but found themselves on the wrong end of some controversial decisions over the course of the game, although Postecoglou did not directly call out referee Andy Madley or VAR official Chris Kavanagh.
However, the Australian hinted in a furious post-match press conference that he was seething at the calls that went against his side, saying: "Considering everything we had to go through and the situation we are in right now to put on a performance like that, I take my hat off to the players. I thought they were outstanding.
"I'm just really, really angry, angriest I think I have ever been in my career that they were denied the right rewards for a fantastic performance. On a fair and even playing ground, we would have won that game."
Which key incidents went against Tottenham in Newcastle loss?
© Imago
Both on the pitch and off the pitch, Postecoglou does not abandon his principles, whether it be setting up his Tottenham side to attack no matter what or refusing to directly comment on questionable officiating incidents.
One such controversial episode came in the build-up to Gordon's equaliser, where Spurs midfielder Lucas Bergvall lunged to retain possession of the ball, which deflected off the hand of Joelinton.
That intervention triggered the attack that led to Gordon's leveller, and the Premier League Match Centre explained in a social media statement that the goal was allowed to stand as Joelinton was not deemed to have deliberately handled the ball.
As a result, Kavanagh's view of the incident was in line with IFAB laws, which states that a goal can only be ruled out for a non-deliberate handball if the ball struck the hand or arm of the scorer themselves, not another player in the build-up.
Had Kavanagh decided that Joelinton deliberately handled the ball, then the goal would have been disallowed, but as his arm was deemed to have been by his side, he saw no reason to chalk off Gordon's effort.
Later on in the first half, Newcastle's Dan Burn escaped a second yellow card after stopping a Spurs attack with a handball, before Tino Livramento escaped giving away a penalty early in the second period after the ball struck his hand.
Ben Knapton
