Thomas Tuchel, the head coach of Chelsea FC, has been fined £20,000 ($23,000) for misconduct and warned about his future behaviour on Wednesday.
Tuchel admitted a Football Association charge of improper conduct following his comments after Chelsea’s stormy 2-2 draw with Tottenham in the Premier League in August.
He had suggested that the referee, Anthony Taylor, be removed from refereeing Chelsea’s future matches.
An FA statement said: “An independent regulatory commission has ordered Chelsea’s Thomas Tuchel to be fined £20,000 and warned about his future conduct for breaching FA Rule E3.1 during a post-match press conference on Sunday, August 14, 2022.”
“The manager admitted that his comments after their Premier League match against Tottenham constitute improper conduct as they imply bias, question the integrity of the match referee, and bring the game into disrepute.”
Tuchel was enraged after two key decisions by Taylor went against Chelsea and resulted in Tottenham goals in the London derby.
Taylor failed to award a free kick for a foul on Chelsea forward Kai Havertz in the build-up to Tottenham’s first equalizer by Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, whose shot was allowed to stand despite a strong case for offside against Richarlison.
Tottenham defender Cristian Romero avoided punishment after pulling Chelsea’s Marc Cucurella to the ground by his hair despite a VAR check.
Antonio Conte, Tottenham’s manager and Tuchel were both sent off after the final whistle for clashes on the touchline, with the German receiving a one-game ban.
Asked if Taylor should not referee the Blues again, Tuchel said: “Maybe it would be better, maybe it would be better.” I don’t think that just some of the fans think that; I can assure you that the whole dressing room thinks that. Not only the fans. You know the players, they know what’s going on when they are on the pitch. They know it. “