Chelsea may be top of the Premier League, but that’s not to say Antonio Conte had nothing to worry about after watching his side beat West Brom 1-0 at Stamford Bridge.
A week on from victory over Manchester City, and the fallout is still affecting the Blues.
While Pep Guardiola had to do without Sergio Aguero and Fernandinho for City’s defeat to Leicester, Conte did not have to deal with suspensions – but incredibly, the threat of a points deduction is still looming large, as reported in the Mirror.
Here’s what Conte had to say on the matter, via ESPN’s Liam Twomey.
"Are you joking?" asks Conte when report is put to him about potential Chelsea points deduction after Man City brawl #cfc
— Liam Twomey (@liam_twomey) December 11, 2016
Conte bullishly defending Chelsea's role in brawl at the Etihad, saying they were not the aggressors & kept their cool #cfc
— Liam Twomey (@liam_twomey) December 11, 2016
The problem is that the melee at the Etihad was not the first disciplinary problem Chelsea have had in recent months.
In the last 19 months, they’ve been charged with failing to control their players five times – most famously against Tottenham towards the end of last season.
On that occasion, while Spurs seemed to be more at fault, Chelsea were given a heftier fine because it was a repeat offence.
The FA have proven before that the possibility of docking points is not an empty threat; in 1990, Arsenal and Manchester United were given that punishment for brawling, so there’s no real reason why Chelsea should be dealt with any differently.
Chelsea have requested an FA hearing over the issue.
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