Presenter and former Sky Sports anchor Richard Keys has questioned the point of touchline bans for managers after Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte served a ban during the side’s Champions League clash at Marseille on Tuesday evening.
The beIN Sports presenter was writing on his blog, giving his view on some of the key incidents in the footballing world over the previous week.
Last week, Conte was punished by UEFA after receiving a red card in his side’s 1-1 Champions League draw with Sporting after a VAR review ruled out a last-minute Harry Kane winner.
The repercussions meant that the Italian had to sit in the stands for his side’s 2-1 victory in Marseille on Tuesday night – a result which secured the north London side’s spot at the top of their Champions League group and progression to the last 16 of the competition.
But Keys has suggested that with modern communications, Spurs will have come up with a solution to counteract the problem in Tuesday’s fixture.
Writing prior to Spurs’ clash in France, he said: “I’m no fan of touchline bans in the modern world. What’s the point?
“Communications are so good now that Spurs will come up with a solution of sorts – but they shouldn’t have to.
“Fine Conte – and Klopp for his outrageous behaviour the week before – and send them out to do some kind of footballing community service.
“And donate the fine to charity.”
TIF Thoughts on Keys’ comments…
We agree with Keys and believe that a touchline ban, whilst frustrating for the manager – who would no doubt have been tense during Tuesday night’s clash – is a relatively minor disturbance given the nature of technology now.
We don’t think that the Italian’s lack of presence on the touchline will have made much of a difference to Spurs’ performance, with the manager still having time with his team before the game to outline exactly how he wants the side to play.
Therefore, we think Keys may have a point and an alternative punishment needs to be discussed at UEFA, with touchline bans proving little to deter managers from antics during games.