Chelsea’s Tuchel charged over ref comments after Battle of the Bridge

Chelsea’s German head coach Thomas Tuchel speaks during a press conference at the Stamford Bridge stadium, in London, on April 5, 2022 on the eve of the UEFA Champions League first leg quarter-final football match against Real Madrid. (Photo by Glyn KIRK / AFP)

Thomas Tuchel was charged on Monday by the Football Association (FA) with improper conduct for his comments about referee Anthony Taylor after Chelsea’s Premier League draw with Tottenham.

The Chelsea boss was unhappy with decisions before both Tottenham goals on August 14 and said after the match that “maybe it would be better” if Taylor did not referee the Blues again.

Tuchel has already been hit with a £35,000 (41,000 euro) fine and a suspended one-match ban for his touchline confrontations with Spurs boss Antonio Conte at Stamford Bridge.

Both coaches were sent off and Conte was fined £15,000.

The FA has now added the charge of improper conduct because his comments in the post-match press conference “imply bias and/or question the integrity of the match referee, and/or bring the game into disrepute,” it said in a statement.

“Thomas Tuchel has until Thursday, August 25, 2022 to provide a response.”

Tuchel was incensed as Tottenham battled back for a draw with Harry Kane’s added-time header.

The Blues felt there was a foul and an offside in the build-up before Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg scored Tottenham’s first equaliser.

Chelsea were also unhappy Taylor took no action when Tottenham’s Cristian Romero’s pulled Marc Cucurella’s hair as they waited for a corner.

Romero’s grab was checked and dismissed by VAR. When the corner was taken, Kane scored.

Mike Dean, who was in charge of VAR for the game, later said he made a mistake in not asking Taylor to review the incident on the