Cesc Fàbregas has been accused of sparking the mêlée that followed the 2-2 draw with Chelsea on Monday night by flicking at the groin area of Tottenham Hotspur players and coaching staff.
The Chelsea and Spain midfielder appeared to be heavily involved in the incident, in which players and staff pushed and shoved at the entrance to the players’ tunnel, resulting in Guus Hiddink, the Chelsea interim manager, being knocked to the floor.
Hiddink dragged Fàbregas away in an attempt to defuse the situation and revealed that “threatening” words were exchanged in Spanish. Hiddink then shouted “remember who the f***ing boss is and get back into the dressing room” at Manoel Ribeiro, the Chelsea massage therapist.
Diego Costa, the Chelsea striker, could also face action after appearing to square up to Michel Vorm, Tottenham’s reserve goalkeeper, and clash with Jan Vertonghen.
The FA have requested footage of the incident, which brought to an end a pulsating game that handed the title to Leicester City, and asked the broadcaster and Chelsea TV for video of a number of other flashpoints.
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The London clubs are expected to be charged with failing to control their players and there could be individual punishments.
Mousa Dembélé, the Tottenham midfielder, was seen on television to appear to scratch the face of Costa and is expected to be charged along with Érik Lamela, his team-mate, who was shown to have stood on the hand of Fàbregas.
An unprecedented nine Tottenham players were booked, which will lead to an automatic FA fine. Tottenham players were unhappy that Mark Clattenburg, the referee, called Chelsea players by their first name on the pitch.
Mauricio Pochettino, the Tottenham head coach, could be asked to explain why he entered the field of play and put his hands on Willian as he tried to separate him from Danny Rose, his left back, near the end of the first half. It led to a scuffle and Rose apologised for the players’ behaviour yesterday.
“It is not nice to see for kids here or kids watching on TV. I apologise if it looked bad on TV,” Rose said. “There are no bad words to say about Chelsea. I couldn’t tell you what happened, it was just handbags being thrown. I saw the Chelsea manager fell on the floor. I hope he is all right. People were saying from the bench that he conducted himself like a true gentleman throughout the whole game. He did not want any trouble to be started.”
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Gary Cahill has pleaded with the FA to take into account the significance of the game and show leniency.
“Sure it boiled over at times, but that’s because there was so much at stake,” Cahill said. “We came in after and everyone’s emotions soon settled down.”
