Conte, Tuchel charged by FA with improper conduct after Premier Leaugue clash

This article has been updated as of 1:45 p.m. ET, Mon. August 15. See below.

Well, it’s been a day since the 2-2 draw between Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur at Stamford Bridge, and it will not be the last we hear about this match or the fallout what took place during and afterwards. Managers Antonio Conte and Thomas Tuchel were both shown red cards for an angry confrontation triggered by the post-match handshake, and it appears that the FA is going to take their time to look at the match and post-match footage before deciding whether to issue any charges to either of them.

The TL;DR for the above tweet is as follows:

• The FA will look at the match officials’ report from Anthony Taylor and investigate footage before making any decision about fines or further suspensions.
• The FA also is investigating Thomas Tuchel’s post-match comments to the press in which he vociferously criticized the officiating
• Cuti Romero will NOT be subject to any further discipline for the hair pull on Marc Cucarella; VAR looked at the incident during the match, meaning that by the rules no further post-hoc disciplinary action can be taken. Hair pulling is not by law considered violent conduct (but it CAN be at the official’s discretion)
• Richarlison’s potential interference was examined but the officials decided that his position had no impact on keeper Edouard Mendy’s ability to see the ball.

It also emerged out of Tottenham Hotspur’s camp that the club has not yet decided whether it intends to appeal the red card given to Conte or not. Should the red card stand, it’s not entirely clear what that means — a straight red for a player for violent conduct normally results in a three match ban, but the rules can vary for bench cards and the nature of the infraction. All we know is that, for now, Conte will not be on the sidelines for the home match vs. Wolves next Saturday.

Incidentally, Conte refused to criticize Anthony Taylor or the match officiating in his post-match press conference. Thomas Tuchel? Not so much. Here’s what Tuchel said afterwards to raise the ire of the FA:

“I can’t understand how the first goal is not offside, and I can’t understand when a player is pulled by their hair, the other player stays on the pitch. Pull someone else’s hair, stay on the pitch and attack the last corner.

“This is for me without any explanation, and I don’t want to accept it. Both goals should not stand, and it’s a fair result because we were brilliant, and deserved to win. This is my point of view.”

Tuchel went on to add fuel to the fan-stoked controversy that Anthony Taylor has a bias against Chelsea:

“Not only the fans. You know the players. They know what’s going on when they are on the pitch. They know it.”

We’ll learn more in due course. Until then, we’ll continue to enjoy the fact that Chelsea got football’d at our hands and we got an extremely hard-earned point at the Bridge.

UPDATE: That didn’t take as long as I had suspected. Within the last hour, the FA has announced that it has charged both Conte and Tuchel with “a breach of FA Rule E3” for unsportsmanlike behavior. Both managers have until Thursday to decide if they wish to appeal.