2 min readUpdated: Sep 10, 2026 07:19 PM IST
USA head coach Mauricio Pochettino in action during FIFA World Cup 2026. (AP)Former Tottenham manager stirred the hornet’s nest, saying that the 2016/17 Premier League title should be stripped from Chelsea and given to Spurs instead. Pochettino said this because Chelsea was fined 10 million pounds (USD 13.4 million) in July and given a suspended two-window transfer ban after appealing penalties for breaching English Football Association agent rules.
“We should have been awarded it. If that was true, then we deserve to be champions that year, for sure. They were punished, they admitted it? So that’s it. The title should be for the team that was second,” Pochettino said to The Guardian.
In the aforementioned season, Chelsea had won the Premier League by a seven-point margin over Tottenham. Chelsea was initially given a suspended six-point deduction along with the fine but the points penalty was replaced by the suspended transfer ban. Chelsea admitted to 74 breaches in total of FA regulations covering agents, working with intermediaries and third party investment in players.