Tottenham’s 2016/17 campaign to be rocked by heavy ban after ‘Battle of the Bridge’

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Tottenham midfielder Mousa Dembele is reportedly facing the threat of a 10-game ban after the eye-gouging incident on Monday night.

The Belgian international was caught on replays pushing his finger into Chelsea striker Diego Costa’s eye, and despite the assistant referee seemingly being perfectly placed to see the incident, Dembele escaped punishment at the time.

However, he won’t escape retrospective action from the FA, who are understood to be classing the incident in the same category as Luis Suarez’s infamous bite on Branislav Ivanovic in 2013, according to The Sun.

In what was a heated clash at Stamford Bridge between the two London rivals, it remains to be seen if Dembele is the only man to be charged after several controversial incidents took place.

From Tottenham picking up nine yellow cards to an ugly bust-up at the tunnel following the full-time whistle involving Cesc Fabregas, there will be various altercations that the FA could choose to take a closer look at.

Nevertheless, the latest reports suggest that Dembele will be hit the hardest as ultimately his conduct was unacceptable and put his rival at risk of suffering a serious injury.

Tottenham’s draw with Chelsea on Monday night saw their title hopes end as tension was certainly running high for both sides.

While the commitment and desire to win added to the spectacle itself, there was simply no excuse for some of the actions which overstepped the mark and in turn Mauricio Pochettino could face some selection headaches to begin next season if the FA choose to take such strong action.

With just two games remaining this season, any suspension of the length being touted would run on to next season, and that is far from the ideal start that the Spurs boss would have wanted to make as he looks to ensure that his side continue to move in the right direction.

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