Chelsea vs Leicester City: why Thomas Tuchel is not on the touchline and what was he banned for

Thomas Tuchel wll not be on the touchline as Chelsea host Leicester City at Stamford Bridge this weekend.

The head coach was fined £35,000 and hit with a one-match touchline ban over his clash with Antonio Conte in the recent derby encounter with Tottenham.

Spurs boss Antonio Conte has also been fined £15,000 after both managers admitted improper conduct in several touchline clashes in the 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge.

Here is all you need to know:

Why is Thomas Tuchel not allowed on the touchline?

Tuchel was given a one match touchline ban following the scuffle at the end of the Spurs Chelsea derby on Sunday 14 August.

It was temporarily suspended for last week’s visit to Ellend Road - in which the Blues lost 3-0 to Jesse Marsch’s side.

The German’s ban was given a stay of execution until the publication of written reasons from the independent commission that adjudicated on the punishments.

However his appeal has been rejected and he is banned from the touchline for the Leicester City game today (27 August).

What happened at Stamford Bridge?

Tuchel and Conte squared up to each other several times on the touchline in last Sunday’s London derby, with both managers being sent off at full-time after Tuchel initated an “highly provocative” handshake.

It came after Harry Kane scored a last minute equaliser for Spurs.

What did the appeal board say?

Disciplinary chiefs branded Tuchel’s full-time extended handshake with Conte as “highly provocative”.

The appeal board’s written reasons criticised Tuchel for a “worrying lack of insight” in attempting to lay a greater share of blame with Spurs boss Conte.

The FA appeal board rejected Tuchel’s appeal and reiterated its previous stance that the Chelsea boss carried greater culpability than Conte.

“That a greater share of the blame for the incident ought to have been attributed to Antonio Conte shows a worrying lack of insight on his (Tuchel’s) part both as to quite how serious his conduct was, whether by comparison to Antonio Conte’s reaction or per se, and as to the cause of the events that, quite predictably, followed his conduct,” read the appeal board’s statement.

“In our view the sanction that the commission imposed on the appellant was not ‘excessive in all the circumstances’; it was not materially more than that which was necessary or proportionate in the circumstances of the case.

“Finally, we order the appellant to pay the costs of the Appeal Board in the sum of £1,600 and the £100 appeal fee. We make that order to reflect the lack of merit in the appeal.”

What did Thomas Tuchel say?

“I think there are two sides to it, the one side is that I got a red card and I behaved in a way that is not appropriate and I regret,” said Tuchel.

“But it was out of passion and I don’t think it was aggressive. But I can accept if I get a red card that there is a touchline ban.

“What is hard to accept is the context, that I don’t think I started the aggression, and that it started earlier. And we both got a red card.

“And for a firm handshake at the end of the match one coach is banned, this is very hard to accept, but I have to accept it.

“In future, you will just a hear a no comment from me on referees. No matter how big it is this is obviously what they want.”

Tuchel continues to wait for the outcome from another FA disciplinary charge, of bringing the game into disrepute for his comments on referee Anthony Taylor.

Tuchel said “maybe it would be better” if Taylor did not referee Chelsea again after the Tottenham draw, lamenting a number of decisions that went against the Blues.

Was Antonio Conte given a ban as well?

Conte was fined £15,000 over the incident at Stamford Bridge on 14 August.

However he did not recieve a touchline ban and was free to take his place in the dug out during Saturday’s lunchtime kick-off against Wolves at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

What has the FA said?

The FA confirmed Tuchel’s touchline ban for the Leicester game in a statement on Friday evening.

Tuchel was also ordered to pay the £1,600 costs of the appeal board and the £100 appeal fee.

A previous statement from the FA announcing the ban reads: “An independent regulatory commission has today ordered that Thomas Tuchel be fined £35,000 and banned from the touchline for one match, and Antonio Conte be fined £15,000 after they respectively breached FA Rule E3.

“Thomas Tuchel and Antonio Conte admitted that their behaviour after the final whistle of the Premier League game between Chelsea FC and Tottenham Hotspur FC on Sunday, August 14 2022 was improper, and both managers requested a paper hearing.

“These sanctions are subject to appeal, and Thomas Tuchel’s one-match touchline ban has been suspended temporarily pending the independent regulatory commission’s written reasons for its decision that will be made available in due course.”