When Spurs took on Burnley last weekend the game was relatively uneventful and resulted in a 2-1 win to Burnley, which to be honest is something that happens, however for reasons as yet unknown manager Pochettino lost his rag and got into a bit of a battle of words with the fourth official for the game Mike Dean. It seems the Argentinian manager was not happy about the loss and apparently felt that his team had been somehow slighted.
No one is sure at this stage what was said, but freetips.com can confirm that, for this misdemeanour, Pochettino will face further action and has been charged by the Football Association. A statement from the FA read: “Mauricio Pochettino has been charged with two breaches of FA Rule E3 following the game against Burnley on Saturday (February 23, 2019).
This means that the accused has until 6 pm on Thursday 28th February to lodge his response. Providing further information the FA confirmed that they had made the charge because “It is alleged the Tottenham manager’s language and/or behaviour at the end of the fixture — both on the pitch and in or around the tunnel area — amounted to improper conduct.
Interestingly this sort of behaviour usually stems from a clear problem during the game, and this game appeared to be straightforward. The only potential issue was that a corner was awarded which directly led to an opening goal by Chris Wood. However, with a further one goal each following this particular incident, it seems strange that he would feel so strongly that this was the reason the match was lost, after all without it the game would have ended in a tie, not a Spurs win.
It is also noted that this is very uncharacteristic behaviour for the usually mild-mannered Mauricio Pochettino who has stubbornly refused to disclose what he said during the alleged altercation, but he has admitted that it might have been a crossing of the line and has stated that he might well be apologising to the referee. He has also confirmed he is not going to contest any disciplinary action so while we do not yet have his response, we can be sure it will be conciliatory. The spat was only ended when Burnley defender Phil Bardsley stepped in to physically remove the manager from the space which will not go down well with the FA, and they are sure to want to know exactly what happened to cause this outburst.
The referee that bore the brunt of the tirade, Mike Dean was due to officiate again when Spurs take on Chelsea on Wednesday night, but it has now also been confirmed that he has been moved, presumably to avoid a conflict of interests while disciplinary action is in progress. The match will now feature Andre Marriner as the fourth official, and Dean will be working his post at the game between Manchester City and West Ham instead. In the meantime we will have to watch this space for the outcome of the FA action.
