THOMAS TUCHEL has been BANNED for Chelsea’s clash with Leicester City after losing his appeal following the altercation with Tottenham boss Antonio Conte.
The two Premier League bosses clashed after their teams played out a 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge.
Tuchel was ‘significantly more culpable’ in the incident, according to an FA disciplinary panel
Tuchel says he considered Conte‘s ” demeanour to be a sign of disrespect”, resulting in him holding onto the Italian’s hand at full-time.
However, Tuchel has lost his appeal against the £35,000 fine and one-game ban with an FA disciplinary panel deeming the German “significantly more culpable” than Conte.
The FA focused on Tuchel continuing to grab Conte’s hand at the final whistle, as well as jolting the Italian while telling him to “look me in the eye when shaking hands.”
As a result, Tuchel will now miss Chelsea‘s game against Leicester.
The panel dismissed Tuchel’s arguments on Wednesday, saying: “It was quite clearly Thomas Tuchel who instigated the confrontation by choosing to grip Antonio Conte’s hand and jolt him back.
“Tuchel gripping Conte’s hand for the reason he gave was simply not justifiable; there exists no obligation for one person to look the other in the eye whilst shaking hands.
“Telling Conte to look him in the eyes whilst gripping his hand and not allowing him to move away was a highly provocative act.
“Conte did react aggressively to Tuchel’s actions but the Commission did not consider him to have hugely over-reacted given the circumstances.
“The confrontation caused a mass gathering of staff, players and stewards that could easily have escalated the situation and was likely to have increased tensions between the two sets of spectators.
“But whilst certain aspects of Conte’s behaviour could be considered as being improper, the Commission considered Tuchel to be largely culpable for the incident and unanimously felt that this ought to be clearly and definitively reflected in the level of sanction imposed.”
Spurs boss Conte avoided a ban but has accepted his £10,000 punishment.
Tuchel was certainly unhappy with the FA’s decision during his press conference ahead of Saturday’s Leicester clash.
The German raged: “My understanding was that we both had our impact in this situation and both got sent off.
“I can understand that I get a ban, I get a fine. What I don’t understand is that the other coach does not get the same punishment. Is hard to understand for me.
“I think there are two sides to it. The one side is that I got the red card and behaved in a way which is not appropriate and which I regret, but it was out of passion.
“It was not too aggressive, it was out of passion. I can accept if I get a red card during the match – if this is the decision – I have a touchline ban and am fined. This is one side to it, I don’t dispute it and accept it.
“What’s hard to accept is the context. I don’t think I started the aggression, it started earlier. I don’t think I was the only person involved; we both got a red card.
“A player pulled another player by its hair two minutes earlier. He can play on, he is not banned. For a firm handshake at the end of the match, one coach is banned.
“This is very hard to accept but I have accept it. Putting it into context, I cannot understand.”
