Ange Postecoglou breaks silence on 'cupping ears' at Spurs fans and explains real reason behind gesture in wild post-match interview

In a must-watch post-match interview, Ange Postecoglou explained why he cupped his ears towards the travelling Tottenham fans during their controversial Premier League clash against Chelsea.

It was an incident-filled game at Stamford Bridge on Thursday night as the home side secured a 1-0 win.

One of the big talking points came in the second-half, when Tottenham had a goal ruled out after Pape Matar Sarr was judged to have caught the knee of Chelsea midfielder Moises Caicedo before finding the back of the net.

Unfortunately for Postecoglou, however, he got a little carried away and gestured towards the Spurs fans after Sarr scored.

It came after supporters had booed his decision to replace Lucas Bergvall with Sarr just five minutes earlier.

The Australian manager appeared to have his say on the booing but moments later, the goal was ruled out and the score remained at 1-0.

Speaking to Sky Sports after the full-time whistle, a frustrated Postecoglou addressed why he cupped his ear to the away support at Stamford Bridge.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about," he told touchline reporter Patrick Davison. "I looked at the supporters. We just scored a cracking goal and I wanted them to cheer because they haven't had a lot to cheer about."

He added: “It’s not the first time my substitutions have been booed if you’ve followed me, they’re allowed to boo but I wanted them to cheer because I thought it was a cracking goal."

Earlier on in the interview, Postecoglou ripped into VAR. "Look, it's killing the game, man. It's not the same game it used to be," he began.

"We all sat on our couches last night, watched TV [Liverpool vs Everton], and I guarantee if Jarred Gillett was a VAR last night, we would have got a different outcome. So you just don't know what you're going to get.

"And you're standing around for 12 minutes... just, it's killing the game. But no one cares about that. I think everyone loves the drama, the controversy.

"I'm sure there'll be a 24-hour sort of discussion around it, and I think that's what everyone wants. They're not interested in reality. But it's just killing the spectacle of the game, you know.

"If the referee saw that, and then he needs to see that for six minutes, tell me what's clear and obvious about it, mate. Just the clear explanation.

"What's clear and obvious about last night? We all sat on our couches and saw one replay and go, 'Oh my god'. Tonight, we sat there, and we waited for six minutes for something that apparently the VAR official and Jarred Gillett thought was clear and obvious.

"It's crazy, mate. It's madness, but we accept it. And when you accept something, I guess you have to take the fallout from it."

"Tell me what's clear and obvious about it mate?!"

Ange Postecoglou is NOT happy with the referee ruling out Pape Matar Sarr's goal 😤 pic.twitter.com/OweJQL2ZXo

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) April 3, 2025

Postecoglou was then asked about the delay before Sarr's goal was eventually ruled out, which is when the Spurs boss became a tad more confrontational.

"Look, Pat. You can try and force me into a corner. You are. Did you think last night was a red card [Tarkowski on Mac Allister]? Was it clear and obvious? Yes, okay.

"How many minutes did it take this referee to figure out whether it [Sarr on Jackson] was clear and obvious in your basic knowledge of human vocabulary clear and obvious? What does that suggest to you that on the first replay, is that clear and obvious?

"If you have to watch something quite a few times, is that clear and obvious?"

Thoughts on the post-match interview? Let us know in the comments.