Football
Dan Kilpatrick, Tottenham Correspondent 7y

Dele Alli gesture 'a joke' and doesn't deserve FIFA ban - Pochettino

LONDON -- Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino does not think Dele Alli's rude gesture on England duty is a big deal, and says far worse behaviour went unnoticed when he was a player.

The Football Association is waiting to find out if FIFA will take action against Alli after the Spurs midfielder raised his middle finger in Monday's 2-1 win over Slovakia at Wembley. Alli says the gesture was a "joke" directed at friend and former club-mate Kyle Walker, a claim supported by Pochettino, who insisted on Thursday that Alli's behaviour is "fantastic".

Pochettino began his career as a player in Argentina in 1989, when there were hardly any TV cameras on the players and anything missed by the referee was quickly forgotten.

"When I was a player, worse things happened on the pitch," Pochettino said. "But they never appeared on the TV. I remember one day, I was playing for Newell's Old Boys, a striker spat at me and it all went in my mouth. Not one camera saw that!

"Afterwards, I killed him! My reaction was to [pull a punch]," he added, gesturing. "And I touched him. But at that moment, the ref said, 'Oooooh' and me, [he pulls his punch]. So the punch was not with power. The referee said to me: 'Little kids will say what are you doing?

"I said, 'Sorry, sorry.' The referee said, 'You and you, yellow cards.'

"But that is the era today in football -- a lot of cameras. In my period, it was one in the middle and two more behinds the goals. Now, it's more about control of the gestures and the behaviour that happens on the pitch. It's good, it's evolution.

"But at the same time, that gesture is not important. It was a joke. It's true that it's not the best example but it's not a big issue. He doesn't deserve to be banned by FIFA."

Walker has supported Alli's version of events and, on the morning after the game, he tweeted a reference to Mr. Bean, Rowan Atkinson's infamous character, raising his middle finger in greeting.

Pochettino feels it was just as harmless coming from Alli and says the issue has been blown out of proportion because of the 21-year-old's past controversies and his status as England's poster-boy.

"Maybe the headlines are because it's Dele and something happens. And he's English," Pochettino said. "For me, it's about moving on and not creating importance about this. He was joking.

"Look at Mr. Bean! No? Is that a bad example? All the people laugh about that. And Dele was joking with Kyle Walker! Come on. We need to censor Mr Bean!

"I understand that people on TV and in the media need to express themselves and they need to say their opinions. But from my point of view, there is nothing wrong. I am so happy with him. He needs to improve and learn, like me, like everyone. His behaviour is improving a lot."

Like Alli, Serge Aurier -- Tottenham's £23 million deadline-day signing from Paris Saint-Germain -- will be under close scrutiny after arriving at the club with a reputation as a troublemaker.

The 24-year-old was arrested in Paris last May for assaulting a police officer outside a nightclub and later given a two-month "convertible" prison sentence, which has since been downgraded to a fine.

In February 2016, he used an anti-gay slur against former PSG boss Laurent Blanc and abused the club's then-striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, now of Manchester United, during a live broadcast.

Pochettino has spoken to Aurier and called for him to be given another chance, but he revealed he would not be so understanding if the defender directed similar abuse at him.

"I said to him, 'I will kill you,' I would head-butt him!" said Pochettino, who spent over two years at PSG but revealed he had not spoken to anyone at the club about Aurier, preferring to judge him on their conversation.

"I always try to feel what the player translates to you when you have a conversation and you meet. It's more important, the feeling that you get from people.

"I have a long chat with him. And I explained how we are, how I am, what I expect from him, and the commitment from him. We have the same conversation with all the players before signing. We are so clear.

"With Serge Aurier, we were clear, and then if some issues happen in the future, we will see. But I trust in him and he needs to show we can trust, from today."

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