The independent regulatory commission have released their written reasons for handing Thomas Tuchel a ban and a fine following his clash with Antonio Conte at full time of Chelsea's clash against Tottenham. Tuchel was handed a one-match ban and a £35,000 fine, while his Italian counterpart was fined £15,000.
The coaches clashed earlier in the match in the aftermath of Tottenham's first goal and were handed a yellow card before being sent off at the end of the match as Tuchel held Conte's grip when they went to shake hands. The clash resulted in a number of bodies surrounding the duo from both teams, and the FA charged both men with misconduct.
Tuchel was still on the touchline against Leeds United at the weekend, with his ban being temporarily suspended in anticipation for the commision's reasons being released. The German coach was able to provide his interpretation of events as part of a written hearing over the charge.
His letter read: "At the end of the match, I approached Mr Conte to shake his hand as an act of sportsmanship. Mr Conte took my hand but did not look at me, and I considered his demeanour to be a sign of disrespect towards me. I, therefore, held on to his hand as he walked past me and told him to look me in the eyes when he shook my hand. Mr Conte replied in Italian and acted very aggressively towards me. I did not react to his aggression and did not say anything insulting to him. I acknowledge that I could and should have dealt with Mr Conte's conduct towards me in a more appropriate manner (for example, by speaking to him privately afterwards). I apologise to The FA and to the Regulatory Commission for having to bring and consider the charge."
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Conte also provided his interpretation of events: "I would first like to apologise to the Commission for the events that happened after the game against Chelsea on Sunday, which is not something I like being associated with, or seeing on a football field. For this reason, I have therefore admitted the charge of improper conduct.
"The referee blew the final whistle, I wanted to congratulate my players and acknowledge the away fans, as well as the home fans who I still hold with great affection after my time managing the club…so not to create any further unease between us I wanted to quickly shake hands and move on.
"I extended my hand towards him with the intention of briefly shaking his. However, he grabbed my hand and did not release his grip. Due to his very firm grip, my arm jarred, causing me to be pulled backwards. I was both surprised and unhappy that such a handshake caused me to be pulled back with such physical force. I did not over-react to this provocation and with the circumstances was proud of how I handled myself. Had I made any reaction, then I understand the situation would have been much worse."
Within their release, the Commission outlined what they took into consideration when making their decision. Read the factors in full below:
"The Commission, amongst all other factors, took into consideration the following when evaluating the levels of sanction to be imposed on AC and TT:
"a. As managers of their respective Premier League clubs, AC and TT ought to be held to elevated standards of behaviour; They are looked up to by their staff, players and supporters, and they, quite rightly, are expected to set and maintain the highest standards of behaviour;
"b. The Premier League is the most watched football league in the world. As such, thousands of fans at the match and millions of viewers around the world would have witnessed the aggressive, inappropriate behaviour of both TT and AC;
"c. It was quite clearly TT who instigated the confrontation between himself and AC by choosing to grip AC's hand and jolt him back after AC had passed him by;
"d. Had TT not gripped AC's hand, the confrontation between the two and the subsequent melee that followed would not have occurred;
"e. TT gripping AC's hand for the reason he gave (AC did not look him in the eye) was simply not justifiable; cursory handshakes are a common occurrence at the end of highly charged football matches, and there exists no obligation for one person to look the other in the eye whilst shaking hands;
"f. TT telling AC to look him in the eyes whilst gripping his hand and not allowing AC to move away was a highly provocative act;
"g. AC was unwillingly pulled, literally, into the confrontation with TT;
"h. AC did react aggressively to TT's actions, but the Commission did not consider him to have hugely over-reacted given the circumstances;
"i. AC did remain irate after he had extricated himself from TT's grip and others had separated the two;
"j. AC appears to enter into a brief but heated verbal exchange with the Chelsea player, Cesar Azpilicueta, before leaving the pitch;
"k. The confrontation between AC and TT caused a mass gathering of staff, players and stewards that could easily have escalated the situation;
"l. The game was a London derby, and the crowd was highly charged. The confrontation between AC and TT was likely to have increased tensions between the two sets of spectators;
"m. Whilst certain aspects of AC's behaviour could be considered as being improper, indeed he admitted as much. The Commission considered TT to be largely culpable for the incident and unanimously felt that this ought to be clearly and definitively reflected in the level of sanction imposed on TT and AC.
"n. Both AC and TT made written apologies and admitted the charges.
"o. AC had one admitted charge on his previous five-year disciplinary record, but this was nearly five years ago, back in November 2017."
They added: "The Commission felt that the above sanctions reflected the seriousness of the behaviour of both TT and AC during the incident but also reflected that TT was significantly more culpable than AC in respect to causation."
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