As Thomas Tuchel faced the press on Monday, one of the questions that kept popping up was regarding the continued postponements of games, supposedly because of Covid.
It seemed that reporters were trying to angle their comments in such a way as to try and goad the Chelsea manager into getting involved in the furore.
Even the thought of clubs massaging the issue for their own benefit isn’t a palatable one, and Tuchel believed that the issue wasn’t a question for managers but more for the journalists themselves as there appeared to be a lack of clarity around the issue and the decision making process.
It’s believed that the process that is in place is robust enough, so any clubs that were perhaps looking to gain an advantage by hiding behind the pandemic would surely be found out.
With punishments certain to follow, anyone trying to pull the wool over the authorities eyes would, putting it very politely, not be doing themselves any favours.
A light-hearted exchange then took place around the same question.
Tuchel was asked if the problem was just related to the pandemic or if clubs were using injuries, other illnesses or ‘the mother in law coming round’ as potential excuses.
It certainly raised a smile with the German who quipped that he hoped the reporter’s own mother-in-law won’t have heard the question.