Tottenham furious after Mauricio Pochettino hit with two-game ban for rant at referee Mike Dean

Tottenham Hotspur have been left stunned after Mauricio Pochettino was hit with a two-game touchline ban and a £10,000 fine for his rant at referee Mike Dean after his side’s defeat by Burnley.

Spurs insiders believe the Football Association is guilty of double standards in comparison to its treatment of Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp.

The suspension means Pochettino will be in the stands for Tottenham’s games against Southampton and Liverpool, as they look to cement their place in the top four.

Two defeats and a draw in their past three league games have loosened Spurs’ grip on third place, putting them back in a battle with Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea for a Champions League qualification spot.

Pochettino made his anger with the punishment clear when he let slip he was facing a ban in his press conference after Tuesday night’s Champions League victory over Borussia Dortmund.

Tottenham officials were shocked by the severity of the punishment, believing Pochettino has been harshly dealt with, given the fact he had accepted the charge and issued a public apology.

It had been expected Pochettino would receive a fine and warning. The club are yet to decide whether to lodge an appeal.

Klopp has twice escaped a touchline ban this season. The first time was after he ran on to the pitch in celebration close to the end of the win over Everton at Anfield, for which the German was fined £8,000 and given a warning.

Klopp then confronted referee Kevin Friend following Liverpool’s 1-1 draw at West Ham United and accused the official of bias. He was fined £45,000 and once again warned about his behaviour.

Nuno Espirito Santo, the Wolves manager, also escaped a touchline ban after joining in his team’s wild on-pitch celebrations during their 4-3 victory over Leicester City. Despite being sent to the stands, Nuno was fined £8,000.

Pochettino and his staff had complained to Dean at the end of their defeat by Burnley, in which Chris Wood scored a controversial opening goal. The Argentine and Jesus Perez, his assistant, were then further incensed by something Dean said and argued further with the official in full view of cameras.

Pochettino was charged with two breaches of rule E3, which concerns the general behaviour of players and staff, and carries the threat of suspension.

Accepting his charge and apologising for his behaviour, Pochettino said: “I made a mistake. My behaviour was public and now I want to apologise in a public way. I need to apologise to him and all of the officials.”

But Pochettino is clearly furious with his punishment, saying on Tuesday night: “I’m very disappointed, but I don’t care. If we’re not going to receive help from our football people in our country, only I can laugh. But you will see tomorrow why I am not happy.”

Confirming the punishment on Wednesday, an FA spokesperson said: “Mauricio Pochettino has been fined £10,000 and will serve a two-match touchline ban following an Independent Regulatory Commission hearing.

“The Tottenham Hotspur manager accepted an improper conduct charge from the FA, which resulted from his language and/or behaviour – both on the pitch and in or around the tunnel area – at the end of the game against Burnley on Feb 23.”

Pochettino was warned about his behaviour by the FA in September for his touchline behaviour in Tottenham’s victory over Fulham.

Despite his touchline ban, Pochettino will be allowed to communicate with his coaching staff via telephone or messenger and can deliver pre-match and half-time speeches in the dressing room.

Defender Toby Alderweireld is confident the players will cope without having Pochettino on the sidelines. “I think we have a clear idea of how we want to play and he will show us before the game what we need to do,” he said.

“I think the group is mature enough to play the way he wants to and the technical staff is big enough to cope with it. Of course, he will be missed, but I think it’s up to us to step up and deliver the performance he wants.”

Having seen his team progress to the quarter-finals of the Champions League this week, Pochettino hopes Tottenham will be able to play their last-eight home tie inside their new home.

The earliest potential opening date for the delayed new stadium is April 7 against Brighton and Hove Albion, as long as they do not progress in the FA Cup, while the quarter-final dates for the Champions League are April 9-10 and April 16-17.

Uefa could confirm next week the deadline for Tottenham to notify it of the venue for their quarter-final home leg.

Alderweireld admitted playing in the new stadium in the last eight would be a huge boost. “I think that will be massive. Even if we never played a game there it will be like our home,” he said. “I said a couple of times that it’s difficult for the fans to come to Wembley and make it your home. It’s very difficult. Sometimes the stadium wasn’t full because of the maximum on the capacity.

“I think the new stadium will be massive for us and I hope we can play there in the next game. I know our fans are doing a massive job for us and even the last London derby at Wembley, the atmosphere was incredible. Imagine that at the new stadium, I think there won’t be another club in the world like this.”