Thomas Tuchel questions bans but vows to be silent on referees in future

Thomas Tuchel has questioned how Antonio Conte escaped a touchline ban after the two coaches’ red cards in Chelsea’s 2-2 draw with Tottenham.

Chelsea boss Tuchel was criticised for a “worrying lack of insight” as his appeal against a one-match touchline ban failed on Friday.

The Blues manager will be absent from the dugout in Saturday’s Premier League clash with Leicester at Stamford Bridge and must now pay £1,700 appeal costs to add to his £35,000 fine.

An independent disciplinary panel suspended the touchline ban pending a possible Chelsea appeal, allowing Tuchel to be in the dugout in Sunday’s 3-0 defeat at Leeds.

Tuchel challenged that decision after receiving the written reasons for the punishment, but the FA appeal board upheld the initial decision.

Conte was only fined £15,000 in comparison to Tuchel’s punishment, leaving the Blues boss quizzical over the disparity.

Disciplinary chiefs branded Tuchel’s full-time extended handshake with Conte as “highly provocative”, but the Chelsea boss had other views.

“I think there are two sides to it, the one side is that I got a red card and I behaved in a way that is not appropriate and I regret,” said Tuchel.

“But it was out of passion and I don’t think it was aggressive. But I can accept if I get a red card that there is a touchline ban.

“What is hard to accept is the context, that I don’t think I started the aggression, and that it started earlier. And we both got a red card.

“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 accept it.

“In future, you will just a hear a no comment from me on referees. No matter how big it is this is obviously what they want.”

Tuchel continues to wait for the outcome from another FA disciplinary charge, of bringing the game into disrepute for his comments on referee Anthony Taylor.

Tuchel said “maybe it would be better” if Taylor did not referee Chelsea again after the Tottenham draw, lamenting a number of decisions that went against the Blues.

VAR official Mike Dean later admitted in a newspaper column he should have ordered Taylor to review Cristian Romero’s hair pull on Marc Cucurella, that went unpunished.

Harry Kane headed home from the resulting corner to steal Tottenham a controversial 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge, sparking ugly touchline scenes that led to both Conte and Tuchel being sent off.

The FA confirmed Tuchel’s touchline ban for the Leicester game in a statement on Friday evening.

Tuchel was also ordered to pay the £1,600 costs of the appeal board and the £100 appeal fee.

The appeal board’s written reasons criticised Tuchel for a “worrying lack of insight” in attempting to lay a greater share of blame with Spurs boss Conte.

The FA appeal board rejected Tuchel’s appeal and reiterated its previous stance that the Chelsea boss carried greater culpability than Conte.

“That a greater share of the blame for the incident ought to have been attributed to Antonio Conte shows a worrying lack of insight on his (Tuchel’s) part both as to quite how serious his conduct was, whether by comparison to Antonio Conte’s reaction or per se, and as to the cause of the events that, quite predictably, followed his conduct,” read the appeal board’s statement.

“In our view the sanction that the commission imposed on the appellant was not ‘excessive in all the circumstances’; it was not materially more than that which was necessary or proportionate in the circumstances of the case.

“Finally, we order the appellant to pay the costs of the Appeal Board in the sum of £1,600 and the £100 appeal fee. We make that order to reflect the lack of merit in the appeal.”