Chelsea boss Antonio Conte accepts FA charge after ranting at fourth official during Swansea win

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Simon Johnson1 December 2017

Chelsea coach Antonio Conte has confirmed he will not contest the Football Association misconduct charge for being sent off against Swansea and will pay the £8,000 fine.

Conte was ordered to the stands by referee Neil Swarbrick on Wednesday night after he’d shouted in the face of fourth official Lee Mason when a corner wasn’t awarded in the first half.

The Italian, who apologised to the duo privately and publicly after the game, had until Tuesday to respond to the FA’s decision.

But Conte has already decided not to protest and said: “I think it's right to accept and to pay the fine. As I said after the game, you know very well what happened.

"If the referee took this decision I have to respect. I want to respect this decision and also to pay this fine.”

But he hopes the match officials will take note of the nature of his complaint, which was about Swansea’s time wasting.

He added: “I also want the referee to learn something about his. For me Swansea was wasting time. In this case the referee has to try to protect the team that want to win, want to play football.

AFP/Getty Images

“I was angry because despite twice I said to the fourth official 'look, because they are wasting a lot of time'. I shout this. I accept the decision of the referee.”

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