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Football

23rd Feb 2019

Furious Mauricio Pochettino confronts Mike Dean over Jeff Hendrick decision

Simon Lloyd

Burnley scored late to win 2-1 against Tottenham.

Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino confronted referee Mike Dean after his side lost 2-1 at Burnley on Saturday – a result which all but ends their hopes of winning the Premier League title.

Spurs had fallen behind twice at Turf Moor in the second half, the first time via a Chris Wood header which came from a corner which appeared to have been wrongly awarded.

The ball went out of play after a sliding challenge between Burnley’s Jeff Hendrick and Spurs’ Jan Vertonghen – replays showing the final touch had appeared to come off the Irish international.

Though Harry Kane later equalised on his first game back from injury, Ashley Barnes was able to score his side’s winner from close range with seven minutes of normal time remaining.

At full-time, Pochettino, flanked by some members of his coaching staff, made a point of seeking out Dean and his officials.

The former Southampton boss appeared to repeatedly be saying “you know very well,” to Dean before he was eventually pulled away from the referee and making his way to the dressing room.

Pochettino was asked about the incident with Dean during a post-match interview with Sky Sports but declined to go into details. He did, however, admit that his reaction was out of character.

The defeat leaves Spurs five points behind Premier League leaders Manchester City and Liverpool, who play their game in hand against Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday afternoon.

Burnley, meanwhile, are temporarily up to 13th with their victory.

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