LONDON -- Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino has said Dele Alli's gesture after scoring against Barnsley in Tuesday's EFL Cup third round was a joke with a friend in the stands.
Alli, 21, appeared to cup his hands behind his ears when celebrating his 65th-minute winner in the 1-0 victory at Wembley, where the attendance was just 23,926 -- under one-third of the stadium's 90,000 capacity.
There had been speculation that the gesture was directed at the low crowd, the media or even Pochettino and his staff.
But Pochettino told a news conference: "It was a situation which was a reference for a friend.