Tuchel responds to controversial FA ban

Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel believes his ban for a touchline incident with Tottenham Hotspur counterpart Antonio Conte a fortnight ago is not fair in the given context.

Tuchel faces a one-match suspension that could see him miss their upcoming Premier League clash at home to Leicester City on Saturday following aggravated exchanges with Conte during and after the two sides' 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge earlier this month.

The German tactician, however, is awaiting a response from the Football Association after the club defended the charges against him, though he is resigned to not being on the bench on Saturday afternoon (kick-off at 16:00).

He has further argued against the context the FA's independent regulatory body provided in that he was the aggressor in the matter for his stern handshake after the final whistle. In contrast, his opposite number escaped with a lesser fine and no suspension.

"I think there are two sides to it. The one side is that I got a red card and I behaved in a way which is not appropriate, which I regret, but it was out of passion and I don't think it was too aggressive," defended Tuchel.

"I can accept that if I get a red card during a match if this is the decision, and I have a touchline ban and then I'm fined - this is the one side to it, and I don't dispute it and I can accept it.

"What is hard to accept is the context. I don't think that I started the aggression, it started earlier, and I don't think I was the only person involved - we both got a red card.

"A player pulled another player by his hair two minutes earlier, he can play on, he's not banned, and for a firm handshake at the end of the match, one coach is banned - this is very hard to accept but I have to. But to put it into context, I can absolutely not understand."

The FA have charged Chelsea coach Thomas Tuchel and Tottenham coach Antonio Conte, following their coming together on the touchline that saw both coaches receive red cards after the 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.#PL #SABCSportFootball pic.twitter.com/ShSMMVvuPQ

” SABC Sport (@SABC_Sport) August 16, 2022

By Web Admin