Poch accuses Juventus of putting pressure on referee

Matt Stead
TURIN, ITALY - FEBRUARY 13: Mauricio Pochettino, Manager of Tottenham Hotspur gives his team instructions during the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 First Leg match between Juventus and Tottenham Hotspur at Allianz Stadium on February 13, 2018 in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)

Mauricio Pochettino believes Juventus have taught Tottenham how to become specialists in success.

Spurs suffered Champions League heartache at the hands of the Serie A champions when a 2-1 defeat at Wembley on Wednesday evening saw Juventus go through 4-3 on aggregate.

Tottenham boss Pochettino said Juventus owner Andrea Agnelli and chief executive Giuseppe Marotta spent time in the tunnel before, during and after the midweek game.

And he felt the Italian club did everything in their power to ensure it was they who would progress to the quarter-finals, including attempting to put pressure on Polish official Szymon Marciniak.

The Argentinian manager thinks his Premier League team can learn from that culture.

“I think it’s a massive situation that you must learn (from). If we only see the stats from the two games, I think Tottenham was the much better team,” Pochettino said.

“It’s in the small details that the competitions sometimes demand different things.

“And I think Juventus are specialists because they have the habit to win, the habit to put pressure on the referee.

“The owner stayed in the corridor in the tunnel before or during the game.

“It’s a club with a culture to do everything to try to help the team.

“Before the game it was Agnelli, after the game it was Agnelli, Marotta.

“I saw at half-time how they put pressure on the referee. I believe those details can help the club.”