Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino reacted furiously at referee Mike Dean after Tottenham’s 2-1 defeat to Burnley, Turf Moor, before appearing to concede the title.
The Spurs boss confronted the official at full-time at Turf Moor with his assistant Jesus Perez joining him to dispute a number of decisions – primarily the call to award the home team a corner, rather than a goal kick, which saw Chris Wood break the deadlock.
As Pochettino began to retreat, Dean appeared to say something to Pochettino, sparking another volatile reaction. The Argentine would not confirm what was said between the pair but appeared defeated when discussing Spurs’ involvement in the title race.
“Nothing, what happened on the pitch happened on the pitch,” Pochettino said.
“We made a few mistakes, we conceded two goals and I have nothing to say. We don’t deserve the defeat but that is football and we keep going.
“It’s important to understand for us it was an important game. I believed before the game it would be decisive if we wanted to be contenders.
“I knew if we lost it will be difficult to be a contender. We are disappointed, the gap can be bigger, there are a lot of games to play but my mind was to win the three points and put the pressure on. We didn’t and we can only blame ourselves.”
Mauricio Pochettino warned his Tottenham players how important a win at Burnley would be. After they lost, he aimed his anger at the referee.