Cucurella: Romero hair pull is clear, it’s a referee and VAR error

Chelsea defender Cucurella says Romero’s hair pull on him was “clear” as day – and branded decision not to punish the Tottenham defender as a “referee and VAR error“.

Chelsea defender Marc Cucurella says referee Anthony Taylor and the VAR officials perhaps made an error of judgement with regards to his hair being pulled by Tottenham’s Cristian Romero

“For me it is too clear in the game, on the pitch,” Cucurella told a press conference when asked about the incident.

“I didn’t see it on the TV, the video. I think it’s very clear, but this is one error of the referee or VAR.

“Sometimes the referees have good decisions, sometimes not. This is not my problem. Maybe we need to work harder to not concede this goal in the last minute.

“I saw [VAR] checking for a red card in the stadium. For me it is clear. In this moment, I don’t know what happened.”

Cucurella also joked that his hair is fine and he will never consider changing his style – and added there were no hard feelings towards Tottenham defender Romero.

“I have no problem with him,” the Spaniard added. “It’s just one action of the game but maybe it was important because it changed the final result.

“For me it’s no problem. Before the game I spoke with him [Romero]. I have no problem. It’s only one action in the game. Maybe an important action because it changes the final result. We have another opportunity [to beat Spurs].”

Romero will not face retrospective action for the incident late in the game on Sunday – as pulling a player’s hair is not considered an offence in football’s laws.

Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher gives his expert analysis on the key moments in the 2-2 draw between Chelsea and Tottenham at Stamford Bridge

Retrospective action can only be given when both the match and video officials fail to spot an incident on the pitch in real time and do not mention it in their post-match report.

Had referee Taylor spotted the incident in real time, then the correct course of action would have been a free-kick to Chelsea, leaving Spurs unable to score from that specific attack.

Unlike rugby, football laws do not specifically mention hair-pulling. The officials must decide whether the extent of the hair pulling is forceful enough to be considered violent conduct.

If it is not, then it would probably be considered unsporting behaviour and result in a yellow card.

Conte: Myself and Tuchel must accept FA punishment for red cards

Tottenham head coach Antonio Conte has said he and Chelsea counterpart Thomas Tuchel “must accept” any punishment doled out by the Football Association following their fiery clash – but the Italian is expecting to avoid a touchline ban.

Thomas Tuchel argues with Antonio Conte after the final whistle at Stamford Bridge

Tottenham head coach Antonio Conte says he accepts and respects the FA’s decision to charge both him and Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel after their confrontation at Stamford Bridge

Conte remains hopeful that he will be in the dugout for Tottenham’s visit of Wolves on Saturday despite being sent off at the end of a fiery London derby against his former club last weekend.

He and Tuchel argued as Conte celebrated Tottenham’s first equaliser in the 2-2 draw, then clashed again at full-time.

The two managers were hit with an FA charge on Monday and have until Thursday evening to either accept or appeal.

Conte seemed to hint he would accept the charge when asked about it earlier on Thursday: “I see that the FA made us, both coaches, a more soft charge, no? And we have to accept.

“We have to accept and have respect for every decision. But I think sometimes this type of situation can happen. It’s not the first time, it won’t be the last time that two coaches are not in the right way or do not agree.

“But the most important thing is we have to move on, to have respect for each other. And for me, the situation finishes there.”

Unlike when a player is sent off, Conte and Tuchel will not necessarily receive a ban – even if they accept their respective charges.

When asked if was expecting to be on the touchline against Wolves, Conte replied that he was confident he will escape a ban: “I hope so. I think that it’s right.

“It’s right to stay in my place. Then I repeat for sure after this type of situation you can learn a lot but at the same time I think that for many situations I was really good to keep calm and don’t have an excessive reaction in the situation.”