Football
ESPN staff 8y

Tottenham's Mousa Dembele and Erik Lamela could face FA action

Tottenham Hotspur midfielders Mousa Dembele and Erik Lamela could face retrospective disciplinary action from the Football Association (FA) following Monday night's 2-2 draw at Chelsea.

Dembele appeared to try to scratch the eye of Diego Costa, while Cesc Fabregas reacted furiously in claiming Lamela had deliberately stood on his hand.

With referee Mark Clattenburg's attention elsewhere during a melee following a challenge by Danny Rose on Willian, Dembele and Costa clashed on the brink of half-time.

The Lamela incident happened in the second half as tensions continued to rise. With Fabregas on the ground, Lamela appeared the stroll past the Chelsea midfielder and make contact with his hand.

Fabregas was also allegedly involved in further dispute with Tottenham staff in the tunnel after the game, with the Evening Standard and The Times both reporting that witnesses saw him tap at least one Spurs backroom staff member in his genitals.

Spurs are already without another midfielder, Dele Alli, who will miss the rest of the Premier League season after being retrospectively banned for punching West Brom's Claudio Yacob off the ball.

The FA are able to take action using video evidence if the officials did not see the incident during the game.

However, linesman Simon Beck appeared to be looking at Dembele and Costa when they clashed, while he also advised Clattenburg before no action was taken following the Lamela incident.

If Beck says he clearly saw either then the FA will not be able to change the player with violent conduct.

However, Chelsea captain John Terry hopes that the authorities do not come down hard on those players involved.

"Players are fighting for league titles, it's emotions," Terry said after the match. "It boiled over [but] let's not get silly and start banning people, it's a London derby and the fans want to see it."

While the draw at Stamford Bridge handed the title to Leicester City, Spurs could still be caught by arch rivals Arsenal for second place. The Gunners are three points behind with two games remaining, and losing Dembele and Lamela would be a blow.

Spurs will face an automatic fine of £25,000 after nine of their players received yellow cards in the game -- the most cautions any club has received in one Premier League match.

It is also likely both clubs with be charged with failing to control their players after tempers boiled over several times during the game and outside the tunnel at full-time. There may also be individual charges relating to those scenes after the final whistle.

Spurs and Man City are the only teams in the division not to receive a red card this season.

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