‘Are you insane?’ – Richarlison reveals if Spurs players joked about Conte bust-up

Now that time has passed since the infamous handshake incident between Tottenham manager Antonio Conte and former Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel, Spurs attacker Richarlison has spoken about how he and his teammates handled the situation.

A feisty 2-2 draw between London rivals Spurs and Chelsea back in August saw tensions rise on and off the pitch. After the final whistle, the two managers shook hands before going head to head in a heated argument (The Guardian).

According to reports, Tuchel felt disrespected by Conte’s refusal to make eye contact with him after the game (Daily Mail). Both managers received a fine, and Tuchel was also the recipient of a one-game touchline ban (The FA).

A lot has changed since then, of course, with Chelsea parting ways with Tuchel after a poor run of results. With all that time passed, you’d imagine the topic of the handshake might have come up in the Spurs dressing room.

Speaking to FourFourTwo, Spurs’ new boy insists that is not the case and admits he and his teammates wouldn’t dare make a joke about the situation.

He said: “At the time we were still involved with the game, so we watched what happened between them on video in the dressing room. It’s pretty normal in football – things happen between players all the time, so it can happen to the coaches as well.

“Everyone calms down and moves on. But it was amusing to see that confrontation between the two bosses. Ours isn’t afraid of confrontations, is he?

That’s as far as the Brazilian and his fellow Spurs players would care to find a laugh in the situation though. When asked if anyone has joked about the incident, Richarlison replied: “Are you insane? No chance, come on! Would you try any jokes? I did not.”

Spurs Web Opinion

I think Richarlison and his teammates are wise to not even think about winding Antonio Conte up about that whole situation. A manager who has spoken about killing his opponents and who isn’t afraid to tell anyone what he thinks of them is not the kind of man you want to make fun of.

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