‘I was polite and calm’ – Stellini reacts to being sent off in Spurs vs Brighton
Cristian Stellini accepts the red card that was shown to him during the Tottenham vs Brighton match on Saturday, admitting that he should have controlled his staff.
There was seemingly bad blood between the Brighton and Tottenham benches even ahead of kick-off, with Roberto De Zerbi gesticulating angrily with the interim Spurs head coach before the game.
The tension continued to build through the 90 minutes, particularly given the controversial decisions that were made, with the away side being denied penalties and having a goal disallowed.
The situation seemingly reached boiling point in the second half, with the two benches involved in an altercation that De Zerbi was very much in the thick of.
Although Stellini did not get involved in the tussle, the 48-year-old was shown a red card along with the Brighton boss by referee Stuart Attwell.
It has been reported that the Spurs head coach was sent off for failing to control his staff during the match (Mirror).
When asked about his red card and the rule of him being responsible for controlling his staff, Stellini told Football.London: “I consider the red card because also if I try to stay calm and to be focused on the game, I have to manage the bench and to keep all of them calm.
“But in that moment for me, I was focused on the players, I wanted to speak to the players and I lose my focus on the bench.
“This is the rule. I have to respect the rule but I think also if you look at what happened, I was polite and calm.”
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Tottenham’s fitness coaches, Stefano Bruno and Costantino Coratti, along with goalkeeping coach Marco Savorani, had no reason to get involved in the tussle, given that we had picked up all three points.
One can argue that they would not have done so if Conte was still in charge.
Stellini had to show more leadership by calming his staff down as it was evident that the tension between the two benches was brewing.
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