Thomas Tuchel seemed to be in a playful mood on Friday, admitting he and his players and his staff had been laughing about his spat with Antonio Conte.
No wonder they laughed. To all of us who were there, it was, indeed, embarrassingly hilarious for a moment or two. But it is unlikely Anthony Taylor has been laughing too much this past week. It is unlikely officials who try to keep order in an increasingly lawless grassroots game have been laughing too much.
But Tuchel finds the whole scenario funny, so that’s ok, and you cannot deny the punishment is a genuine cause for amusement. A £35,000 fine for a manager who earns £200,000 a week and a one-game touchline ban, suspended for a while, for some bizarre reason.
