Here’s How Conte Avoided Touchline Ban Over Tuchel Bust-up

Here’s How Conte Avoided Touchline Ban Over Tuchel Bust-up. The Football Association (FA) has explained why they punished Antonio Conte and Thomas Tuchel differently following their clash in a recent London game.

During and after the game, the two managers had heated exchanges. After the final blow, referee Anthony Taylor issued red cards to both coaches, and the FA investigated the incident.

Tuchel and Conte’s sanctions were eventually confirmed by the association last week. Both managers must pay fines, but the FA has chosen to simply ban Tuchel from touchline attendance because he instigated the fight.

On Tuchel v Conte, the FA found the Chelsea boss to be "largely culpable" for the handshake incident. pic.twitter.com/Pm16TplC6g

— Rohith Nair (@RohithNair) August 24, 2022

An official document from the regulatory commission of the FA reads: “It was quite clearly TT [Tuchel] who instigated the confrontation between himself and AC [Conte] by choosing to grip AC’s hand and jolt him back after AC had passed him by.

“Had TT not gripped AC’s hand the confrontation between the two and the subsequent melee that followed would not have occurred.“TT gripping AC’s hand for the reason he gave (AC did not look him in the eye) was simply not justifiable; cursory handshakes are a common occurrence at the end of highly charged football matches and there exists no obligation for one person to look the other in the eye whilst shaking hands.

“TT telling AC to look him in the eyes whilst gripping his hand and not allowing AC to move away was a highly provocative act; AC was unwillingly pulled, literally, into the confrontation with TT.

“AC did react aggressively to TT’s actions but the commission did not consider him to have hugely overreacted given the circumstances.

“Whilst certain aspects of AC’s behaviour could be considered as being improper, indeed he admitted as much, the commission considered TT to be largely culpable for the incident and unanimously felt that this ought to be clearly and definitively reflected in the level of sanction imposed on TT and AC.”