The Football Association is investigating Thomas Tuchel's comments after the Chelsea manager slammed referee Anthony Taylor for his decisions in Sunday's ill-tempered 2-2 draw with Tottenham Hotspur.
Most of the post-match focus at Stamford Bridge was on the angry exchanges between Tuchel and Tottenham manager Antonio Conte during and after the game. Both coaches were shown red cards after squaring up to each other following their aggressive hand shake after the final whistle, and are likely to be banned from the dugout for their teams’ next games.
However, Tuchel also turned on referee Taylor in his post-match news conference, saying “maybe it would be better” if Taylor no longer officiated games involving Chelsea.
Asked about a view held by some fans that Taylor has a history of decisions against Chelsea, Tuchel said: “I don’t think just some of the fans think that. I can assure you the whole dressing room of us, every single person, thinks that.”
The Press Association and Reuters reported that the FA will look into those comments and even Tuchel raised the likelihood of being “punished” for speaking out against Taylor.
The Blues manager was unhappy that an apparent foul by Tottenham’s Rodrigo Bentancur on Chelsea’s Kai Havertz was missed by the officials before Tottenham’s equaliser. He also was surprised Tottenham defender Cristian Romero wasn’t penalised for pulling the hair of Chelsea’s Marc Cucurella at the corner before Harry Kane’s second Tottenham goal in the sixth minute of stoppage time.
Tuchel described it as a “huge, huge misinterpretation of situations”.
The match was filled with drama throughout. Kane glanced home Ivan Perisic's corner to salvage a point for the visitors, who have now won only once in their last 38 visits to Stamford Bridge. It sparked chaotic scenes on the touchline where the managers clashed for the second time on a sweltering afternoon.
"There's no hard feelings – I feel like it was a fair tackle from him and a fair tackle from me," Tuchel said.
"We did not insult each other, we did not hit each other, we were fighting for our teams. It was hot from the temperature and hot between the benches and hot on the field and hot between the spectators."
Conte preferred not to go in to detail about the clashes.
"For sure I am not passive. If I see aggression, then my answer is with aggression but I repeat this is not a problem," Conte said. "The most important thing is the game was a great game with two teams where there is a big rivalry. For us to get a point was really important."
