Pochettino’s punishment to be delayed
Tottenham have been handed a boost today in relation to a potential Mauricio Pochettino touchline ban after his altercation with referee Mike Dean.
One of the biggest talking points last weekend was Pochettino’s confrontation with Dean.
The Argentine boss was clearly angry at the full-time whistle and confronted the referee to make his point.
However, Pochettino crossed the line in the way he approached Mike Dean, something he later explained was unacceptable.
“Watching my behaviour afterwards on video, I need to accept the charge from the FA,” he explained, as quoted by the BBC.
“I need to apologise to Mike Dean, I cannot behave in that way.
“My behaviour was public and now I want to apologise in a public way. I need to apologise to him and all of the officials.”
It’s looking more and more likely Pochettino will face a touchline ban but despite Arsenal being next up, he may be available for that game and banned for the Southampton clash instead.
Bad for Arsenal, good news for Southampton
That is because according to the Evening Standard, ‘there is unlikely to be enough time to convene an independent panel and decide the Argentine’s fate before the lunchtime clash with Arsenal.’
Their report explains that due to Spurs being expected to formally respond late Thursday afternoon, a ban is more likely to take place for the Southampton game.
That means Pochettino would be available for the north London derby at lunchtime on Saturday.
This will come as a blow for Arsenal but some pretty positive news for Southampton.
Arsenal’s injury doubts over two key players before Tottenham
To make matters worse, there’s some more bad news for Arsenal.
That is because there are now some injury doubts surrounding two key players.