The Sun journalist Martin Lipton shared that he thinks the FA will only hand Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino a stage one warning following his burst-up with referee Mike Dean.
The Spurs boss seemed to exchange several angry words with the match official after his side lost 2-1 to Burnley on Saturday, and the reliable journalist shared why he thought the manager would avoid being charged.
Lipton said that if the FA hand Pochettino a punishment for the controversial moment then Spurs could report what Dean said to the manager and his assistant manager Jesus Perez, which could be a problem for the referee.
“He’s angry about lots of things, it seems what angered him most was what Mike Dean said when he was on his way, it’ll be interesting to see if they charge him,” said Lipton, who is The Sun’s Deputy Head of Sport (talkSPORT, Monday February 25th, 7:11am).
“I reckon, just as a guess, that he won’t be charged, he’ll get one of these stage one warnings from the FA and it will die down.
“Because if they charge him, then Spurs can report what Mike Dean said Mauricio Pochettino and Jesus Perez and it could be a problem for Dean.”
OPINION
Lipton’s verdict on what the FA will do with Pochettino seems to be the most likely outcome. With it still not being known what Dean said that really angered the usually calm Pochettino, it might not be remarks that put the referee in a good light. It makes sense that the FA would therefore want to take action which will cause chatter regarding the controversy to die down and move on from it quickly. If they hand Pochettino a notable punishment then the issue will continue to be debated publicly in the media. Dean and Pochettino’s headline-worthy outburst has ended up overshadowing Burnley’s 2-1 win over Spurs, and that seems unfair on Sean Dyche’s side. Burnley caused an upset by beating Spurs on Saturday and there should be more talk about how good of a performance they put in to get all three points. However if people aren’t talking about Dean and Pochettino then they’re talking about how Spurs’ title bid is effectively over. Poor Burnley aren’t getting a look-in.