Tottenham and Brighton hit with biggest Premier League fines of the season after De Zerbi and Stellini bust-up
TOTTENHAM and Brighton have been fined £100,000 each following the touchline brawl between the two benches in the recent Premier League game.
The ill-tempered match, that saw interim Spurs boss Cristian Stellini and Brighton head coach Roberto De Zerbi clash before kick-off, flared up in the second half with a mass confrontation between staff from both dugouts.
That led to Stellini, who appeared an innocent bystander, and De Zerbi being sent to the stands and both clubs have now been fined by the Football Association.
An FA statement read: “Tottenham Hotspur and Brighton and Hove Albion have been fined £100,000 each for a mass confrontation that occurred during their Premier League match on Saturday 8 April.
“Both clubs admitted they failed to ensure their benches conducted themselves in an orderly fashion and did not behave in a way which is proper during the 58th minute.
“An independent regulatory commission imposed their fines following a subsequent hearing.”
The £100,000 punishments are the biggest fines dished out to Premier League clubs this season.
The previous highest is understood to be the £75,000 for Manchester City for failing to ensure their players behaved in an orderly fashion at Arsenal in February.
Tottenham’s 2-1 win over Brighton was shrouded in controversy as Brighton had two goals disallowed and two strong penalty appeals waved away.
Fans were left in disbelief that Karou Mitoma’s effort was ruled out, claiming the ball had in fact hit him on the shoulder.
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The Seagulls also felt they should have been given a penalty when Tottenham midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg appeared to trip Mitoma in the box.
And the red cards for the gaffers were brandished following a melee between the two dugouts after Alexis Mac Allister’s strike was disallowed.
PGMOL chief Howard Webb had to apologise for the errors after the game.
A seething Lewis Dunk did not hold back at VAR in his post-match interview.
The Brighton centre-back dropped an F-bomb at the start of the chat, before quickly apologising.
But his rant continued.
He fumed: “There’s no point having VAR in the game if you’re not going to make big decisions like that.”
Webb also apoogised to the Seagulls when they had a perfectly legitimate goal chalked off for offside in the 1-1 draw at Crystal Palace.
They were also unhappy this weekend when Christian Pulisic escaped punishment for an apparent handball in the Chelsea penalty area – although De Zerbi’s side did come back to in 2-1.
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