Mousa Dembélé has been handed a six-match ban after the Tottenham Hotspur midfielder accepted an FA charge of violent conduct for an eye gouge on Diego Costa, the Chelsea striker.
He is not allowed to appeal and will miss the matches against Southampton, tomorrow, and Newcastle United, next weekend, as well as the opening four games of next season, after a commission hearing yesterday.
Mauricio Pochettino, the Tottenham head coach, could not defend Dembélé’s actions at Stamford Bridge on Monday and he refused to say whether the 28-year-old would be fined by the club. However, the Argentinian suggested that sometimes players caught misbehaving on camera were penalised more than someone given a three-match ban after being sent off for breaking an opponent’s leg.
“It is not fair to analyse without context,” Pochettino said. “If you break someone’s leg then it’s only three games. But if you touch someone then it’s six games. They are the rules in football.
“In football sometimes the rules give out a different message to the people. Mousa knows that when you cross the line you need to pay and this is impossible to justify. But we can understand it. It was a moment in his position, we can maybe do the same. Sometimes when you run a lot and you’re under stress, you can cross the line.”
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Tottenham and Chelsea have until Monday night to answer a charge of failing to control their players after incidents during the 2-2 Barclays Premier League draw at Stamford Bridge. Pochettino, however, believes that the match was the latest example of opponents trying to provoke Tottenham.
Dele Alli was found guilty of violent conduct after hitting Claudio Yacob, his West Bromwich Albion midfield counterpart, two weeks ago and Pochettino said the incidents showed that Spurs have changed their image.
“I hear in the last few years that in the past Tottenham were soft, but now we start to show character,” he said. “We cross the line, maybe yes, I’m not stupid but it’s important to manage better our energy for the next season and be sure we learn a lot. This season we showed that we are not a nice team to play. Not any more. Our opponents don’t like to play against us. Because we showed passion, maybe too much.”
Pochettino was also critical of managers and players who publicly said they wanted Leicester City to win the title in recent weeks. “Maybe in the last few weeks or months, we know the football people maybe don’t behave like professionals,” he said. “[You should] not give your personal opinion like a supporter. It’s easy to say big things against our enemy because: ‘Oh, the people love me, I’m very strong.’ Maybe managers need to say in future we must be careful with comments in public.”
How the ban compares
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9 months Eric Cantona (Man Utd, 1995) Kung-fu kick on a supporter
12 games Joey Barton (QPR, 2012) Violent conduct against Man City
11 games Paolo di Canio (Sheff Wed, 1998) Pushing referee Paul Alcock
10 games Luis Suárez (Liverpool, 2013) Biting Branislav Ivanovic
8 games Ben Thatcher (Man City, 2006) Elbowing Pedro Mendes
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6 games Jonny Evans (Man Utd, 2015) Spitting at Papiss Cissé