Mousa Dembélé could be banned for more than three matches for his part in the ‘Battle at the Bridge’ which resulted in the FA today charging Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur with failing to control their players.
The Belgian midfielder has been charged for an alleged act of violent conduct in which he appears to gouge the eye of Diego Costa during a scuffle at the end of the first half at Stamford Bridge. The governing body said that a three-match ban – the regular punishment for an act of violent conduct – is “clearly insufficient” in Dembélé’s case, which could lead to an extended ban.
Mark Clattenburg, the referee, produced 12 yellow cards – a record nine of them for Tottenham - during a match in which ugly clashes broke out on a number of occasions and even involved Mauricio Pochettino, the Spurs head coach, running onto the pitch at one stage.
The Chelsea manager, Guus Hiddink, 69, was knocked to the ground during a mêlée by the Stamford Bridge tunnel after the 2-2 draw which ended Tottenham’s hopes of winning the Barclays Premier League title and a first win at the home of their London rivals in 26 years.
“Both Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur have been charged for three breaches of FA Rule E20 for failing to control their players and/or officials,” the FA said. “It follows incidents which occurred in the 45th and 87th minutes and also at the end of the game at Stamford Bridge on Monday night [2 May 2016].
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“Both clubs have until 6pm on Monday 9 May 2016 to respond to their charge.
“Meanwhile, Mousa Dembélé has been charged for an alleged act of violent conduct which was not seen by the match officials but caught on video during the same game. The Tottenham Hotspur midfielder was involved in an incident with Chelsea’s Diego Costa near the end of the first half.
“Further, it is alleged the player’s behaviour constituted violent conduct in circumstances where the standard punishment of three matches that would otherwise apply is clearly insufficient. The player has until 6pm on Thursday 5 May 2016 to respond to the charge.”
Tottenham are already without Dele Alli for the remainder of the season after the England midfielder was banned for three matches for punching West Bromwich Albion’s Claudio Yacob in the stomach.