There will be no more handshakes.
The London derby between Chelsea and Tottenham became the highlight of the second round of the English Premier League. Fans saw a hot confrontation on the field and no less hot in the technical area. Head coaches Thomas Tuchel and Antonio Conte had a fight right after the final whistle.
Such behavior of respected specialists seems somewhat infantile. Especially when you consider that even now, when everything is over, Conte is trolling Tuchel on social networks.
Looks like the coaches won’t be shaking hands soon.
Too much celebration
The Chelsea – Tottenham match ended with a score of 2: 2, but even the worst world did not smell on the field. The players fought desperately for victory and were even ready to grab each other by the hair, just not to miss their own. The situation became as electrified as possible by the middle of the second half, when Tottenham, who had been inferior in the score before, bounced back.
The goal of the Dane Pierre-Emil Heybjerg angered the fans of the Blues, and the players themselves. It seemed to them that the scoring attack began with a violation of the rules on Kai Havertz, which means that it was impossible to count a goal. At the same time, Conte violently celebrated the goal, which pissed off his opponent Tuchel. The coaches first exchanged unpleasant remarks about each other, and then even had a little butt.
Antonio Conte / Photo: ©
REUTERS / Daniele MascoloAggressive handshake
The first skirmish was quickly stopped. Only now, no one knew yet that Tuchel harbored a grudge on Conte and was preparing a new provocation. Tuchel was further angered by the confrontation between Spurs defender Christian Romero and Chelsea midfielder Mark Cucurella. The Argentine grabbed the Spaniard by the hair, but the referee Anthony Taylor did not react to this act of aggression by the Tottenham player.
Needless to say, when Harry Kane turned 2:1 into 2:2 in the last minutes, it was a terrible blow for Tuchel. After the final whistle, the German went to shake hands with Conte – and then all the emotions splashed out. Tuchel pulled Antonio’s hand with force and said that when shaking hands, you need to look into the eyes. The Italian was not afraid, and the coaches grappled again. A brawl ensued around them with the participation of players, referees and members of the coaching staff. The fight between two masters with a world-famous name could well claim the status of the fight of the year in the Premier League. As a result of the match, both received well-deserved red cards.
At the post-match press conference, Tuchel was already in a much more peaceful mood.
We both fought for our clubs. No one is offended and no one was hurt – it didn’t come to the fists, ”ESPN quotes the head coach of Chelsea.
Conte, who is famous for his hot temper, was still angry with his opponent. In the end, Tuchel, during the skirmish, not only pulled Antonio’s hand, but also joked about his hair, hinting that it was fake. Yes, Conte really made a transplant at one time, but jokes on this topic have long turned into dupes.
– If I encounter aggression, I also respond aggressively. Next time I will be more careful and will not shake hands with him,” Conte is quoted as saying by The Guardian newspaper.
Apparently, Conte did not calm down even after he left the stadium. On social media, the Italian posted a photo of Tuchel celebrating Chelsea’s second goal. Rejoicing at the goal, the German ran past Antonio, shaking his fists in the air.
You’re lucky I didn’t see you. Otherwise, you would have received a well-deserved bandwagon, ”Conte wrote on his page.
Since the confrontation between Jose Mourinho and Arsene Wenger, such conflicts have not happened in the Premier League. The mutual respect between Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola has been a symbol of the coaching rivalry for many years. Now there are bad guys in the league again, and that just adds to the spectacle.
