“It will have a knock-on effect” - Chris Sutton insists Chelsea man should be banned after incident against Manchester City

Football pundit Chris Sutton believes Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino should be banned for what he did after the Blues were held to a 4-4 draw against Manchester City in the Premier League on Sunday, November 12.

With the scores level at Stamford Bridge in stoppage time, Raheem Sterling had an opportunity to catch the Cityzens on the break as they desperately hunted for a winner. Unfortunately for Chelsea, match referee Anthony Taylor blew his whistle prematurely, bringing the thrilling clash to a halt.

Taylor also awarded a controversial penalty to Manchester City in the first half after Marc Cucurella brought down Erling Haaland inside the box. This led to Pochettino storming onto the pitch to confront the match officials, earning a yellow card in the process.

However, Sutton reckons Pochettino deserves a harsher punishment. He said (via The Chelsea Chronicle):

“I think this season has seemed worse than ever in terms of Premier League managers attacking referees, there are a lot of issues with VAR and a lot of decisions have been questionable this season but the reaction of Premier League managers have been over the top."

He continued:

“The biggest thing is that further down the chain – so Pochettino shouting in a fourth official’s face – that will have consequences down the leagues because people will think it’s the norm if Pochettino is a good guy if he can do that, that’s the norm."

“It will have a knock-on effect and you think grassroots referees, there are cases of them being attacked or verbally abused, so Premier League managers have a great responsibility and there is a line, and many have crossed it this season."

Sutton concluded:

“Really there needs to be severe bans on Premier League managers behaving in that manner, simply because of the effect it will have on referees further down the chain.”

Pochettino did publicly apologize to the officials during the post-match press conference. It is currently unknown if he will receive further punishment for his actions.

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Chelsea handed injury blow as star pulls out of international squad: Reports

Chelsea have suffered a huge blow as right-back Malo Gusto is set for a spell on the sidelines after picking up a knee injury following the 4-4 draw against Manchester City. He has already been forced to withdraw from the France U21 squad for the upcoming international break, according to L'Equipe (via Football London).

Gusto reportedly underwent an MRI scan following the blockbuster Premier League clash. The result revealed the Frenchman had an issue in his medial collateral ligament, on his right knee.

The extent of the injury isn't fully clear yet so a grade one tear would mean a recovery time of one to three weeks, whereas a more severe case could take upwards of six weeks.

Gusto has played a key role for Chelsea this season in the absence of Reece James, providing two assists in 11 appearances across all competitions.