‘As soon as I see a phone I will react’ – Postecoglou explains why he has confronted fans this season | OneFootball

Ange Postecoglou says he deliberately reacts to people who try to goad a reaction out of him while filming him because he does not think it is right.

Numerous clips have emerged on social media this season of Postecoglou confronting fans while they are filming him, and the Spurs boss has explained why he chose to react.

“They’re not really interested in your answer to the question, they just want a reaction,” Postecoglou said.

“They just want their five minutes of fame because that’s what this (a phone) gives them.

“That’s what I was talking about. For young people, it’s more dangerous than any other weapon in the world as far as I’m concerned.

“If I don’t pull up, especially young kids who pull up a phone and put it in my face, then what’s stopping them from doing that in the schoolyard? What’s stopping them from doing that in general life?

“It’s a bullying mechanism. It’s not criticism.”

Postecoglou says he can take criticism from supporters but is especially concerned by young people looking to do it for social media.

He continued: “If you think after 30 years in the game that I haven’t received abuse, it was from the first day! I don’t react to that.

“But if somebody is holding up a phone I will react to it because I won’t accept it. It might be the Fulham game you’re talking about when it happened, they were two young boys, I don’t know if it’s shown in the clip but I asked them where is their dad or their mum. They got slightly sheepish and embarrassed.

“It’s not criticism I’m reacting to, it’s them holding up a phone. Why are you holding up a phone? What are you trying to do? So you can put it on social media and say ‘look, I got Ange Postecoglou to react, isn’t that great?’.

“I can take it, I’m 60-years-old, but what if they do that in the schoolyard, what if they do it in general life, what if they do it that to you?

“As soon as I see a phone I’m going to react. I’m not going to accept it.”

Postecoglou also defended his decision to confront those fans with phones and insists he is doing so in order to make a point about the problems it could cause.

“Hopefully, I could be wrong, but I didn’t swear in that, I wasn’t abusive, I just asked a simple question,” he added. “I’m always going to do that.

“Fighting the good fight sounds a bit contrite, I’m an old man railing against society but as I said from the outset, I’m not going to be one of those people who accepts it.

“I’m just not at that stage of my life where I’m going to accept people trying to bully or antagonise me and trying to do things which I think show total disrespect.

“Again, I’m not talking about somebody just shouting over a fence at me. I’ll be specific about that.

“It’s happened a few times and I reacted to it and I always will.”