Tottenham Hotspur head coach Ange Postecoglou has dismissed the notion that supporters who travel from around the world to watch the club live are ‘plastic’ fans.

Premier League clubs all over the country often welcome a large number of tourists to their matches, – a practice that has drawn high levels of criticism on social media because many local fans are unable to watch their side on a regular basis.

The issue has been further thrust into the spotlight after Tottenham confirmed a six per cent rise in season ticket prices for the 2024/25 season, leading many to conclude that the club are more interested in selling tickets to visitors they know will be willing to pay a more premium price.

But speaking to reporters ahead of Saturday’s Premier League game at Fulham, Postecoglou staunchly defended fans who travel from around the world to watch games – stating that he would also be in that bracket simply because he comes from the other side of the world.

“See that’s really harsh,” Postecoglou replied when asked if ‘getting in tourists’ is the simple thing for Spurs to do. “I’ll tell you why: Because I’m probably ‘plastic’ and ‘tourist’ because I was coming from the other side of the world really passionate about football and if I could get access to see a Premier League game, that was the world to me.

“So to label people ‘plastic’ or ‘tourists’ I don’t think that’s fair just because people live on the other side of the world. This football club has supporters all over the world. It has supporters all over the UK who don’t always get access to the games and I think we should always be able to accommodate them.

“It doesn’t make them any less passionate and really disrespectful to call fans who are willing to go to the expense of coming halfway round the world. You don’t know how passionate they are about their football club. Maybe they have only started supporting it in the last two years – but that doesn’t diminish who they are.”

Tottenham said in a statement that the rise in prices and removal of concessions for new season ticket holders over the age of 65 was because “football is not immune to the rising costs of goods and services across the board”, but the club’s supporters trust has labelled the decision “unacceptable”, adding that the hikes “cannot be justified”.