Mauricio Pochettino hits out at referee Mike Dean after Tottenham denied 'clear' penalty

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Alex Young @alexwsyoung16 September 2017

Mauricio Pochettino has questioned referee Mike Dean's decision not to give Tottenham a 'clear' penalty in their 0-0 draw with Swansea City.

Serge Aurier appeared to chest the ball down inside the penalty area before being tripped by a Swansea defender, but Dean waved away the protests by insisting the summer signing handled the ball.

Pochettino has risked the wrath of the Football Association by hinting that Dean guessed, adding that the referee "had a not good afternoon".

When asked by BBC Sport about Aurier's penalty appeal, Pochettino said: "It is so clear. What is not clear why Mike Dean justify in front of our players that it was handball but it was not handball.

"If you are not sure about the situation then why say it was handball? It was unlucky but we need to look at ourselves and try to be better next time and score before this situation.

"It was unlucky for us. We did not get the one penalty we deserved. In that situation the referee had a not good afternoon."

The result leaves Spurs winless after three games at their temporary home and deflates the mood after a thrilling victory over Borussia Dortmund three days' previous.

Pochettino insists he is happy with what he saw from his players, who bossed the game with 75 per cent possession, but notes the dropped points at home.

He said: "Very disappointing because we did everything to win. We created chances and dominated the game but were a little unlucky.

"I am happy with the performance although it is another game we draw here at Wembley and that is no good.

"I like to talk about my team, we created a lot of chances to score. It is true after the draw to say well done to Swansea and congratulate them for taking a draw."