Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino has issued a public apology to referee Mike Dean after confronting the official following Spurs’ loss at Burnley in the Premier League at the weekend.
The Spurs manager has been charged by the Football Association over his behaviour at Turf Moor. He has confirmed he will accept the charges and will not request a personal hearing. Pochettino stormed onto the pitch after full-time to confront Dean, who has since been removed as fourth official for Tottenham’s clash against Chelsea on Wednesday, after the 2-1 defeat.
And the Argentine said: ‘I will accept that charge. Watching after on video from TV, my behaviour I think I need to accept the charge from the FA. At the same time I need to apologise Mike Dean. Right or wrong in the way I complained, the sense that I wanted to complain, I cannot behave in that way and I want to apologise to Mike Dean and all the people involved. I want to apologise in a public way too. (To apologise) in private is not important because it was in public my behaviour and I need to apologise to him and the officials too.
‘But I think people understood, to be honest, I wasn’t too bad. My behaviour wasn’t too bad but of course there is a limit you cannot cross. I put my toes in the line but always it was respectful. I did not want to justify the defeat it is only when you start to talk your heart rate starts to push. It is not going to help my team or my club or the job of the referees and of course myself. I hope I don’t repeat again the same mistake. I think very smart people can’t repeat the same mistake.’
On the decision to strike him off the game at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday, the Spurs boss added: ‘I wanted to see him tomorrow to apologise in person. ‘That doesn’t mean that in my mind that I still believe I am not right, but the way I behave I am not right and I wanted to apologise.’