Mauricio Pochettino has publicly apologized to Mike Dean and accepted his FA charge as a result of his post-game actions toward the referee following Tottenham Hotspur’s 2-1 defeat away to Burnley on Saturday.
[ MORE: Top PL storylines for Week 28 (Tuesday & Wednesday) ]
Pochettino, clearly aggrieved by at least one of the refereeing crew’s decisions during the game, confronted Dean after the final whistle (WATCH HERE) and had to be ushered off the field by members of his coaching staff. Pochettino says he knows he was wrong for how he conducted himself in that moment — quotes from ESPN:“I will accept that charge. Watching after on the video, my behavior, I think I need to accept the charge from the FA. I’m not going to ask [for a personal hearing].
“At the same time, I need to apologize to Mike Dean. Right or wrong in the way that I wanted to complain, I cannot behave in that way. My behavior was public and now I want to apologize in a public way, too.”
…
“I hope I don’t repeat this type of situation. It’s not going to help my team, my club, the job of the referees and, of course, myself. I think I’m a very smart person who cannot repeat the same mistake.
“I was so frustrated after the game, so disappointed with the result. I didn’t want to justify the defeat and complain with the referee. It’s only that when you start to talk, your heart-rate starts to push.”
[ MORE: Premier League midweek streaming, TV schedule ]… but remains steadfast in his belief that he was “right” about the call(s) being incorrect.
“I feel sorry for that, because I wanted to see him tomorrow and apologize in person. In my mind, I still believe I’m right, but in the way that I behaved, it’s not right. That’s the point.
“For me, he’s one of the best referees. For me, all the referees are really good and I never had a problem. I think I made bigger my problem in my head because for me it was one of the most important games to play, and the three points were so important to put pressure on our opponents.”Follow @AndyEdMLS
