Fans have branded Ange Postecoglou a hypocrite for his comments after Tottenham's defeat to Chelsea.
The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium bore witness to a fiery London derby on Monday evening which truly had it all.
The hosts looked to be cruising after Dejan Kulusevski opened the scoring inside six minutes, but a reckless challenge from Cristian Romero in the 33rd minute turned the tie on its head.
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After a lengthy VAR check, the Argentine defender was shown his marching orders by referee Michael Oliver, while Cole Palmer converted the spot-kick.
Things only got worse for Tottenham after the break, as Destiny Udogie picked up a second booking and the north Londoners were reduced to nine men, adopting a fascinatingly high line to help defend against Chelsea.
After a valiant defensive effort, Tottenham were eventually undone in the 75th minute, with Nicolas Jackson going on to score his first hat-trick in royal blue.
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Speaking after the game, Postecoglou was gracious in defeat and praised for his refreshing outlook on refereeing decisions.
“Premier League managers should just manage their football clubs," the Australian said in his post-match press conference.
"I've never and I never will talk to a referee about the rules of the game. I was taught that you grow up and you respect the officials.
“Their authority is just constantly getting diminished. I grew up afraid of referees. They would be like policemen. Nowadays I guess we talk back to policemen as well. I'm old-school. I'm from a bygone era. I just love the purity of the game.”
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However, fans have since branded the 58-year-old a hypocrite after he was booked in the first half for leaving his technical area on too many occasions.
Rival fans have suggested that Postecoglou was actually shown a yellow card because he argued with Oliver's decision, claiming that his comments did not match up with his behaviour on the touchline.
Replying to a video of the manager's post-match interview, one fan tweeted: "This is after getting booked by the referee for not accepting his decision."
While another wrote: "He's just being hypocritical about it."
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However, others have jumped to the defence of the former Celtic boss, claiming that he simply left his technical area and was not arguing with officials.
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Topics: Ange Postecoglou, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, Premier League, Football, Fan Reactions, VAR