Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino punishes himself after Nicolas Jackson move

25 November 2023 , 08:10

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Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino punishes himself after Nicolas Jackson move

Mauricio Pochettino has slapped himself with a punishment and called out his own treatment of referees.

The Chelsea boss went after Anthony Taylor following his side's draw with Manchester City last time out and, as a result, will be absent from the touchline when his side play Newcastle. The Argentine is keen to stamp out that kind of behaviour and has reprimanded his own players.

Earlier this season Nicolas Jackson, who has accumulated several yellow cards, many of them for dissent, picked up a one-game ban and also copped an internal punishment. Pochettino has ensured fairness by punishing himself, albeit in a slightly different way.

He admitted on Friday: "[Jackson] had to run [for his punishment] and I am going to pay for a dinner because I got suspended and I cannot run, so I prefer to pay."

Pochettino's fiery temper has certainly got the better of him in the past. Tensions flared in the infamous Battle of Stamford Bridge when the Argentine was in charge of Tottenham in 2016. He also confronted Mike Dean after a Tottenham defeat at Burnley back in 2019.

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The Blues boss has conceded his frustration with the PGMOL, who have imposed firm rules on players and managers without any discussion. Pochettino believes that puts further strain on the relationship between officials and those they're trying to police.

Mauricio Pochettino cut a frustrated figure after Chelsea's last outing (Getty Images)

"We have to be more flexible — we are too square with things," he said. "That also doesn’t help the relationship. Sometimes we are frustrated because we were talking in the last managers' meeting [about this]. The coaches need to be more involved in these decisions."

Chelsea had begun to hit some promising form before the international break. They became the first team to beat Tottenham as they put four past their rivals, who had two men sent-off. Six days later they battled back to secure a 4-4 draw with champions Manchester City and Pochettino is confident they're heading in the right direction after a difficult start.

"We are going to try to keep the momentum," he said. "We were already in a moment where we were really building our way to play and the results were on our side. But I believe that we can keep the momentum, even with two weeks with no competition."

Samuel Meade