Stellini and De Zerbi fail to shed light on touchline altercation in Spurs’ win against Brighton

Interim Tottenham head coach Cristian Stellini did little to explain the circumstances that led to both he and Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi being sent off in Spurs’ 2-1 win against the Seagulls on Saturday.

Ill-feeling on the touchline was evident from the outset at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as De Zerbi confronted Stellini when the two managers greeted one another ahead of kick-off.

Antonio Conte’s former assistant had said in his pre-match press conference that De Zerbi was ‘good technically but really aggressive’ as he recalled their days playing against one another in Italy’s Serie B.

However, he was unwilling to explain why tensions in the technical area ran so high during the meeting of the two Champions League qualification contenders.

“What happens on the pitch stays on the pitch,” said the 48-year-old. “Sometimes it seems bad when it is not. I want to give respect to all of the managers in the Premier League.

“I want everybody to understand that this is my second game as head coach. I always speak as a manager that has to learn from other managers in the Premier League.

“The tension came from the type of game we were playing. It was an important game where the result was very important for both teams. That can create a bit of tension, it is normal.”

De Zerbi, who has been linked with the managerial posts at both Spurs and Chelsea recently, did not confirm that his agitation was a result of Stellini’s pre-game comments. He too stressed the importance of managers respecting one another after feeling that his opposite number had in some way disrespected him.

“I usually respect everyone inside of the pitch and outside of it. I don’t like when people don’t respect me,” he said. “It was a personal situation and I told him [Stellini] my opinion.

“I didn’t say anything to the referee during the game. I don’t like it when the other bench put pressure on the referee. We have to help the referee, not put more pressure on.

“I think I didn’t deserve the red card. You can’t find one situation from my bench complained about the referee’s decision.”

Regarding the red card, Stellini was sent off for failing to control his bench as a number of coaches clashed with their Brighton counterparts not long after the Seagulls had seen a goal disallowed by VAR after Danny Welbeck’s shot deflected off the arm of Alexis Mac Allister.

“I conceded the red card because I was trying to stay calm and focus on the game,” said Stellini. “[I have to] manage the bench and keep them calm, but in that moment I was focused on the players, and I lost 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.”

Welbeck’s disallowed goal was not the only VAR controversy on the day. Karou Mitoma had a goal ruled out for handball in the first half and was also not awarded a penalty despite Pierre Emile-Hojbjerg making contact with him in the box after the interval.

Stellini did not feel that the officials were responsible for the outcome of the game though, as goals from Son Heung-Min and Harry Kane secured all three points for his side.

“Many times we have had to accept what VAR has said,” he suggested, “If we go back [through the season] there are maybe four times where we can discuss what VAR did.

“We didn’t discuss in the past and we don’t want to discuss now what VAR does. It’s like everything, it stays on the pitch. It is finished now.”

With Stellini banished to a seat just behind the press box, Ryan Mason was left in charge of matters on the Tottenham bench for the final half hour of the game.

Spurs temporary boss felt his stand-in handled matters well.

“If I could give them [tactical] suggestions I had people who could transfer my idea, but they did a great job. They finished the game well,” said the Italian.

Stellini also felt that his sending off did little to take away from the pride of winning for the first time since Conte’s departure over the international break.

“When we went a goal up we fought a lot compared to the last two games [against Everton and Southampton],” he said. “I don’t feel it [the red card] takes away from the victory.

“It was amazing what the crowd did in that moment [following the red card]. They felt the team needed energy and they gave us energy.”