Postecoglou seeks clarity on obstruction rule

TOTTENHAM have sought clarity on the current interpretation of rules governing the obstruction of goalkeepers after goals involving what Ange Postecoglou is certain were fouls on Guglielmo Vicario. Manchester City and Everton scored goals against Spurs from set-pieces in which Vicario was blocked on his line and unable to come out and command his six-yard area. ‘I’ve kind of always been the one who says you’ve got to respect the referee’s decision,’ said Spurs boss Postecoglou. ‘But we have sent some stuff to get some clarification. It was always 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 was that if you impeded a goalkeeper in any way in the six-yard box, you were going to get a foul. I knew that as a player, I knew that as a manager. ‘Somebody will say the rules haven’t changed but I think there’s been a shift there. To me, it’s obstruction. If you stand in front of a goalkeeper stopping him before a ball has even arrived, in layman’s terms that’s obstruction. It was something I thought was part of the game. I’m finding it bizarre it’s not being pulled up any more.’ Spurs have asked for an explanation from the PGMOL because Postecoglou feels the current interpretation of the rules invite teams to crowd goalkeepers at set-pieces and deliver high crosses, but the keepers risk giving away a penalty if they fight through a crowd. West Ham keeper Alphonse Areola was judged to have fouled Oli McBurnie and punished with a penalty at Sheffield United. ‘It’s pretty much opened it up that you can surround the goalkeeper and crowd him and put balls on top of him and just see what happens,’ said Postecoglou, who has close to a full-strength squad for today’s home game against Brighton after Son Heung-min and Yves Bissouma returned from international duty. Bissouma had a mild case of malaria before the Africa Cup of Nations.