CONTE..1 TUCHEL..0
Spurs boss escapes with fine as Tuchel is banned for bust-up
THOMAS Tuchel has been hit with a one-game touchline ban and fined £35,000, while Antonio Conte has escaped with just a £15,000 fine after their touchline bust-up.
The Chelsea boss, whose ban has been temporarily suspended, was deemed the guiltier party by an independent regulatory commission following his clash with Tottenham rival Conte at Stamford Bridge.
They were both red-carded at full-time and exchanged words as they shook hands, with the German taking exception to Conte’s refusal to look him in the eyes. They were subsequently charged with ‘improper’ behaviour.
Chelsea have exercised their right by applying to have Tuchel’s ban suspended while they await written reasons for his punishment and the differing sanction handed to Conte.
Both managers, who have the right to appeal, will subsequently be in charge of their teams this weekend, though the threat of a ban remains hanging over Tuchel. Spurs host Wolves today, while Chelsea are at Leeds tomorrow.
An FA spokesperson said: ‘Thomas Tuchel and Antonio Conte admitted that their behaviour after the final whistle was improper.’
Conte, meanwhile, says his team are on their way to becoming the nasty side he wants, in part due to new signing Richarlison.
After his FA charge and touchline bust-up with Tuchel and seeing Cristian Romero get away with pulling Marc Cucurella’s hair before Spurs’s late equaliser, Conte made no secret of his desire to see a mean streak from his stars.
He said: ‘This is a step that I continue to ask of my players. We did a little step forward but we need to continue to complete this step.
‘ Because to be nasty is very important. It means you need to feel the blood of your opponent and try in a sporting way to kill your opponent.
‘I’m trying to transfer my idea. To be competitive, to have ambition, to fight for something important, you have to improve in many aspects.
‘Also your character has to be strong and you have to
understand very well the difference between a win, a draw and a loss.’
Richarlison, who joined Spurs in the summer for £60million, possesses the edge Conte is after and helped spark them into life at Chelsea when he came on just after the hour.
‘For sure Richy is a player that made us focused, nasty. He’s a player I like,’ Conte said.
‘ He’s always into the training session with his mind. For us I think this is a good sign.’