Pochettino jokes on blacking-out tunnel after #ManchesterDerby fracas
Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino has joked that the club may have to cover the see-through tunnel in their new stadium following media reports of a fracas at Old Trafford following Sunday’s Manchester derby.
British media reported that United manager Jose Mourinho was upset by the behaviour of the City players who threw milk and water at him following the 2-1 Premier League win while Mikel Arteta, a City coach, was reported to have suffered a cut.
Tottenham’s 61 500-seat stadium plan includes a glass-walled suite similar to that in City’s Etihad stadium that will allow supporters to watch players before they step on to the pitch.
“The tunnel is with glass, big glass like the bank. Very safe,” Pochettino said, ahead of his side’s league fixture against Brighton and Hove Albion on Wednesday.
“But now yes, City and Tottenham, maybe (have to) paint it black. Or at halftime, curtains – before the game, open, halftime, closed. Or if not, you must pay double if you want to open them.”
The Argentine said he had witnessed a few tunnel bouts during his playing days at French side Paris St Germain, although he was never hurt as he was “clever”.
“In France too they were tough, playing (for PSG) against Ajaccio at halftime, I remember a massive fight in the tunnel,” Pochettino said.
“You (the media) didn’t see it, but there was fighting between us. It was terrible. Sometimes it happens.
“It was tough. After you are scared a little bit because it was like we were animals fighting, and you do not know what happened. I don’t know if it was similar.
“You can talk when you’re calm and relaxed, but when something happens on the pitch and you are under stress and emotion, sometimes you cannot stop and it can happen.”
Reuters