Chelsea soccer boss Thomas Tuchel has insisted he has “no ill feeling” in the direction of Tottenham supervisor Antonio Conte after the pair had been each given pink playing cards following fiery on-field exchanges.
The two bosses twice clashed, first on the touchline, then on the sphere on the closing whistle, in what was a highly-charged London derby at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
Chelsea had taken the lead, however a controversial equaliser from Spurs’ Piere-Emile Hojbjerg led to tensions and tempers spilling over.
Blues’ boss Tuchel remonstrated with fourth official Peter Bankes because it turned clear Hojbjerg’s effort would stand.
Former Chelsea supervisor Conte raced in – and the pair briefly touched heads, as members from each benches piled in to a messy melee.
Tuchel, his assistant Zsolt Low, and Conte had been all booked, however after all of the fuss, the objective was awarded.
Then, after Reece James put Chelsea again in entrance within the 77th minute, Tuchel set off on a dash previous Conte and down the touchline, clenching his fist in delight.
But it did not finish there.
At the ultimate whistle – after the strained sport led to a 2-2 draw because of a Harry Kane additional time objective for Spurs – the mangers met on the sphere for the customary handshake… and one other tussle ensued, leading to a second reserving and a pink card for each.
“I thought when we shake hands you looked in each other eyes, but Antonio had a different opinion,” Tuchel mentioned of the post-match conflict with Conte.
“He was happy when they equalised, and it got a bit heated, but nothing big… I think it was not necessary, but a lot of things were not necessary.
“It was one thing of nothing. I’ve no in poor health feeling,” he told Sky News Radio.
Conte put the emotions down to passion.
“I feel it isn’t necessary, this isn’t necessary,” he said.
“It can occur when the fervour is excessive in either side.”
He said he would “pay extra consideration” next time when he shakes hands with his German counterpart.
“I’ll keep on my bench, he’ll keep on his bench. No drawback about this,” he added.
Social media enjoyed the two managers’ tête-à-tête.
Spurs striker and England star Harry Kane described the encounter as “spicy” on his Twitter feed.
The managers are each now dealing with one-match touchline bans.
Source: information.sky.com”