Cesc Fabregas allegedly instigated post-match brawl by slapping Spurs players in the groin

Tottenham Hotspur didn't exactly cover themselves in glory during and after their 2-2 draw with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Monday, but let's not pretend that the Chelsea players were choirboys. According to the Telegraph, Tottenham players were quick to identify Cesc Fabregas as the prime instigator of the now infamous post-match brawl that sent Chelsea manager Guus Hiddink flying into a row of seats by the tunnel.

From the Telegraph report:

The Spaniard is alleged to have slapped more than one Tottenham player and member of staff in the nether regions, sparking a number of verbal and physical reactions.

Hiddink revealed afterwards that he got hold of Fabregas because the midfielder was shouting "threatening" words in Spanish that would have been understood by the majority of the Tottenham management staff and Erik Lamela, who had trod on the hand of the former Barcelona man.

Considering the initial reports coming out of the Chelsea social media morass were that Danny Rose had viciously shoved an elderly man to the ground and that the virtuous Blues players were merely avenging his honor, it's gratifying to see that perhaps things might have been a bit more complicated than previously indicated.

Danny Rose, who was in the thick of the tunnel scrum and the one to actually make contact (innocently, most likely) with Hiddink, apologized and said, essentially, s**t happens.

"I couldn't tell you what happened, it was just handbags being thrown.

"I saw the Chelsea manager fell on the floor. I hope he is all right. People were saying from the bench that he conducted himself like a true gentleman throughout the whole game. He did not want any trouble to be started."

I'm glad someone was a true gentleman during this match. Someone had to be! Still, there are genteel fisticuffs between gentlemen and then there's slapping your opponents in the nuts. Cesc, for his sake, isn't saying anything about the incident, which is probably wise. He wouldn't want to tarnish his golden reputation as a Spanish gentleman, after all.