Premier League issue statement after Newcastle United incident v Spurs leaves Ange Postecoglou furious
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Spurs went ahead early on through Dominic Solanke’s header before first-half goals from Gordon and Alexander Isak saw Newcastle claim a 2-1 win. But Gordon’s equaliser was a source of contention in the match as the ball hit off Joelinton’s arm in the build-up to the goal.
The Premier League Match Centre explained the decision in a brief statement: “‘The referee’s call of goal was confirmed by VAR, who checked for a potential handball by Joelinton in the build-up and deemed that his arm was by his side, in a natural position and the contact was accidental.”
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Hide AdBut Postecoglou was incensed on the touchline and was frustrated that his side did not win the match at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. While he refused to talk about the handball decision, Postecoglou claimed his side were beaten for reasons other than football.
“Hugely proud of the lads,” he said. “Our football was outstanding against a very good opponent who are in a good place.
“It's a game we deserved to win and we should have won. On a fair and even playing ground we would have won the game.”


When asked about Gordon’s goal, Postecoglou responded: “ Don't ask me about the [handball] decision, I have my opinions on it but we were outstanding today. I'm disappointed that it wasn't football that denied us getting our rewards today.
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Hide Ad"You can talk about whatever you want. You want my opinion - if all things were equal and balanced we would have won.
"We had plenty of chances. Our football was outstanding considering everything we're going through.
"If it was an even playing field we'd have won."
Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe was also asked about the decision on TNT Sports after the match.
"We had to dig deep today,” he said. “It was a tough win but a massive one.
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Hide Ad"There's no denying the ball hit Joe's hand or arm but I'm not sure of the rules.
“For me the rules are slightly unclear. I don't know where the cut off point is. Of course it hit his hand - I cannot deny that. But from that point onwards I thought it was a really good goal.”
There were also calls for defender Dan Burn to be sent off for a second bookable offence but the defender remained on the pitch and put in an impressive defensive display.
"Not for me,” Howe responded when asked if Burn should have seen red. “I don't think he warranted two yellow cards. His yellow card probably was but after that were slight fouls."
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