Conte comments on prospect of a match ban after seeing red against Chelsea

Antonio Conte has admitted it would be a pity if he is banned for Tottenham’s next game as a result of his altercation with Thomas Tuchel on Sunday.

There was not only tension between the two sets of players during Sunday’s London derby but there was also no love lost between the two managers.

Conte squared up to Tuchel and celebrated aggressively when Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg scored an equaliser while the Chelsea boss sprinted past the Italian to celebrate when Reece James put the Blues 2-1 up nine minutes later.

After the final whistle, the two managers got into another squabble and had to be separated, with both receiving straight red cards for the incident.

Conte decided to play down his quarrels with Tuchel and hinted that the referee make a mistake in showing him a red card.

When asked about the incident, the Spurs boss told Football.London: “Honestly the referee showed me a red card but he didn’t understand the dynamic of what happened, but it’s ok I have to accept, but I repeat this is not a big problem.

“It’s not important. The problem is between me and the other coach, not for the others.”

The red card means Conte may not be allowed on the touchline for Tottenham’s clash against Wolves on Saturday, with the Italian describing the prospect of a ban as a ‘pity’.

The Tottenham head coach insisted that he and Tuchel will have no trouble putting the incident behind them.

When asked about the Chelsea boss’s statement that his Spurs counterpart enjoyed the confrontation, Conte responded: “To enjoy I think that what happened we did enjoy but next time we will pay more attention and don’t shake the hands and we solve the problem.

“He stays in my bench, I stay in my bench, with my staff on one side and no problem about this. It would be a pity if for this situation we miss the next game.”

Spurs Web Opinion

It is clear that Tuchel was the instigator after the final whistle as the Chelsea boss did not let go of Conte’s hand. The Italian did not back off from the confrontation but he was evidently walking away from the German after shaking his hand and so, is right to feel hard done by to get a red card.

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