Tottenham prepared for north London derby fine - Pochettino

Tottenham's players were involved in a fracas with Arsenal's subs and Mauricio Pochettino says a fine would be "normal" if found guilty.

Published : Dec 04, 2018 23:48 IST

Mauricio Pochettino said he hadn't spoken to Eric Dier about his celebrations which led to the melee in the derby.
Mauricio Pochettino said he hadn't spoken to Eric Dier about his celebrations which led to the melee in the derby.
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Mauricio Pochettino said he hadn't spoken to Eric Dier about his celebrations which led to the melee in the derby.

Mauricio Pochettino says Tottenham is prepared to accept the consequences if it is found guilty of wrongdoing in relation to a melee during Sunday's north London derby, which Arsenal won 4-2.

Spurs players became involved in a confrontation after celebrating an Eric Dier equaliser in close proximity to the touchline where Arsenal substitutes were warming up, the England midfielder having made the "shush" gesture in the direction of the home supporters at the Emirates Stadium.

Pochettino raced from his technical area to break up the fracas but both clubs have since been charged with a failure to control their players by the Football Association (FA) and given until 18:00 GMT on Thursday to respond.

"It's difficult to control emotions in that moment. It's not easy, " said Pochettino. "I was far away, I ran over, I arrived late and it was difficult to see what happened.

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Arsenal and Tottenham players involved in a confrontation. - AP
 

"I tried to watch on TV. It was difficult to control emotions, I think it's under investigation, the FA charge, and we'll see what is going to happen."

Asked whether he had spoken to Dier about his conduct, Pochettino added: "Look, to be honest, I didn't talk with him. Because when you do something and then it's so evident what happened after, you can take it in one or two directions.

"If you're a Tottenham fan, you take in one direction, if you're an Arsenal fan, you take in another direction. If you're the manager of Tottenham or Arsenal, or the Arsenal players doing the warm-up, you're going to back your players.

"There's no sense now to talk too much, now it's just to accept the FA charge or not. It's under investigation. If we did something wrong, it's normal to pay."

READ | Klopp fined £8,000 for derby celebrations

Pochettino was not the only Premier League manager on the run on Sunday, with Jurgen Klopp sprinting onto the field to celebrate Liverpool's late Merseyside derby winner against Everton.

"I think all the managers are very emotional," he added. "The job demands you to be emotional. It's only that some people have more freedom to do things and show more than others.

"I am so focused in trying to be calm and relaxed. In the end you maybe don't help too much, but you try to think that you can help your players.

 

"Everyone can behave like they want to. That is the most important thing, to accept that people that are different to you can behave differently to you and to accept that it's not with intention to be disrespectful to another team.

"I am the way you see me, but inside I am more like Klopp. I behave more like Klopp maybe in the changing room.

"I am sometimes so aggressive and emotional but after on the touchline I try to be relaxed and contain myself. Maybe one day I start to run, why not?"

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