"Let's see what happens" - Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel reacts to touchline ban and fine after row with Antonio Conte

Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel accepted his 'improper' behavior during the match against Tottenham Hotspur at Stamford Bridge last weekend. The German manager engaged in a heated exchange with Tottenham Hotspur boss Antonio Conte for which both managers were shown red cards at the end of the match.

Speaking to the press ahead of the clash against Leeds United on Sunday, August 21, Tuchel accepted the 'improper behavior' charge leveled against him by the Football Association. The Blues boss has been given a one-match touchline ban and a £35,000 fine for unacceptable conduct on the pitch.

Accepting the mistake and explaining the situation from the manager's perspective, Tuchel said via English Standard:

“It is a bit harder to accept given the context that two minutes before somebody on our team got pulled by the hair.''

“If we both pulled our hair maybe we would have got away with it. For a handshake suddenly it is a red card, it was after the match and it was more passion than anything else but I accepted the charge.''

Tuchel added that derby matches have a different sort of passion running around in the stadium, often leading to an escalation like the one against Tottenham. He added:

“I hope like Antonio that I can be on the side-line, let’s see what happens. In general, we don’t have a history of being involved in arguments. Together we have played three or four times against each other, we had zero issues before and it just got heated up with the equaliser, 1-1 so the last 20 minutes were a bit emotional between the benches which is sometimes maybe also normal and acceptable in a derby like this.''

Tuchel, however, clarified that he had no hard feelings towards Conte, and the aggression shown after the full-time whistle was momentary. He believes the late equalizer filled the manager with uncontrollable emotions, and the spontaneous reaction to it was blown out of proportion.

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