Football
ESPN staff 6y

Dele Alli told to 'be aware' of ref after middle finger gesture for England

Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino says he will warn Dele Alli to be on his best behaviour during Tuesday's Champions League clash at Borussia Dortmund.

Pochettino's caution follows the news that the match at the Westfalenstadion will be officiated by Clement Turpin, who was refereeing the World Cup qualifier when Alli was caught making a middle finger gesture.

"I didn't know," Pochettino admitted after finding that Turpin was the referee involved in the incident. "It's important to be aware.''

Alli appeared to direct the gesture at Turpin during his country's 2-1 win over Slovakia on Sept. 4, but FIFA's disciplinary committee later judged that it was not directed at the French official after the England midfielder said it was aimed at teammate Kyle Walker.

However, the Spurs boss said that he would tell the 21-year-old to be careful during his reunion with the Ligue 1 referee.

"I will tell Dele to be careful if he is the referee," he continued. "Always it's important.

"The referee moves on and I'm sure there is nothing in his mind to ban him for that situation. But this is always good. I will tell Dele.''

The level to which Alli will feature against Dortmund is still unknown. Both he and Harry Kane recently pulled out of the England squad during the recent international friendlies with Brazil and Germany with injury problems and despite starting Saturday's North London derby, both players were removed at half-time.

"They were fit [to play against Arsenal], both Dele Alli and Harry Kane,'' Pochettino said "I have spoken with everyone and we have conversations with the 25 players. Then when I get the perception I'm going to decide.

"We only rest players who need to rest for different reasons -- always what's best for them and the team."

Although Tottenham have already guaranteed their place in the knockout phase of Europe's elite competition, with just one victory needed to progress as winners of Group H, Pochettino said he was reluctant to rest players.

"I hope not too many rest because it's a Champions League game and we want to win and it's better to win tomorrow than to wait for the last game against Apoel," he added.

"The objective was to qualify and we achieved that but it's important to finish first if we can.''

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