Sheffield United manager Paul Heckingbottom has made the incredible revelation that he was told his team must “kick long” by the match officials to avoid goalkeeper Wes Foderingham being sent-off against Tottenham.
Heckingbottom watched his team suffer a heartbreaking defeat to Spurs thanks to stoppage-time goals from substitute Richarlison and Dejan Kulusevski, but his post-match anger was directed at referee Peter Bankes and his officials, who he described as “appalling”.
Foderingham had been booked in the first half for handling outside his area and Heckingbottom was so concerned about the threat of a second booking that he spoke to the officials at half-time.
But he was stunned by what he was told and insisted referees and their assistants “simply do not know the game”.
“Something needs to be done now,” said Heckingbottom. “And this is not me moaning, I said it at half-time and when we were 1-0 up as well. The focus is on time-wasting, so the referees are dictating how we play.
“We set up from the back, then Spurs push forward and then that dictates how we play. But no, we’re just told to ‘play long’. The answer back to me was ‘well kick long then’. We work all week on how we want to play and the refs are dictating to us how we play the game. It can’t happen, but it’s happening. They’ve got obsessed about time-wasting and yellow cards.
“Wes got a yellow card for handling outside the box and then got threatened with a sending off [for time-wasting]. You can’t do it, the officiating is appalling and it’s not about the football decisions, it’s just game management. They just do not know what they’re doing. The people who are directing our game have not got a clue about our game. They don’t know football.”
Sheffield United striker Ollie McBurnie was sent off for receiving a second yellow card after Tottenham had gone ahead late in stoppage time and Heckingbottom added: “To sum it all up we get Ollie McBurnie sent off for telling the referee someone is pulling his shirt. We’ve just seen someone lead with an elbow into our goalkeeper who needs stitches and that’s the same offence. What’s going on, seriously what’s going on with our game?”
Tottenham looked like they would finish the game the frustrated team for 97 minutes, as they trailed to Gustavo Hamer’s 73rd-minute strike against the run of play.
But Richarlison levelled in the eighth minute of injury time with a header, before Kulusevski, set up by the Brazilian, won the game in the 10th minute of time added on to send the Tottenham stadium wild.
These are still early days with tougher tests to come, but there is a love story already gathering pace at Tottenham, who have now made their best start to a season since 1965.
Head coach Ange Postecoglou milked the adoration of the Spurs crowd as he walked off the pitch after his players had disappeared down the tunnel and Robbie Williams’ ‘Angels’, which has been reworded in his honour, blared over the stadium speakers.
Asked about the connection he and his team are quickly developing with the fans, Postecoglou replied: “It is crucial. The fans played their part today.
“It was a really frustrating game, there were a lot of stoppages and dead time where sometimes we didn’t deal with it well either. It would have been easy for our supporters to get frustrated. They are seeing this team trying to play the football they want to see their team play and that helps. They can resonate with that. They want to see aggression and they have bought into that. In this early phase it is crucial, hopefully that fast tracks our development as a football club.”
Richarlison’s contribution was timely after the Brazilian had revealed that he will seek psychological help, following a “turbulent time” off the pitch.
“Richi was great,” said Postecoglou. “All the subs who came on were great, but for Richi you try and maintain a balance in life. His football hasn’t been that bad but sometimes when you struggle in some parts of life it goes into other areas. Football is one part he can control and he got his rewards today. It is about not letting it overwhelm you and hopefully it helps him.”
Asked if he had reserved any special words for Richarlison ahead of the game, Postecoglou added: “It is not my area of expertise. I try to provide an environment where they can thrive.”
