The Spurs manager will have to watch games away to Southampton and Liverpool from the stands

The Football Association have handed Tottenham Hotspur boss Mauricio Pochettino a two-match touchline ban following an Independent Regulatory Commission hearing.

Spurs’ manager accepted an important conduct charge for his behaviour following the 2-1 loss at Burnley on February 23.

At full time, Pochettino and his coaching staff got involved in a heated exchange with the referee on the day Mike Dean.

The Tottenham manager and his assistant Jesus Perez were walking away from the man in the middle, when the Spurs boss turned and could be seen appearing to say “what did you say?” to the experienced referee.

Only then did the Argentinian and his number two become irate and the unsavoury scenes were not good for anyone to see.

Perez had to be pulled away and while Pochettino stayed calm, he did get close to Dean in the centre circle, although pointed to the Sky Sports cameras in an apparent attempt to tell the referee to repeat what he said moments earlier.

After accepting the charge, the Spurs chief has now been hit with what seems a quite severe punishment for an incident he immediately regretted.

“Mauricio Pochettino has been fined £10,000 and will serve a two-match touchline ban following an Independent Regulatory Commission hearing,” an FA spokesman said, this morning.

“The Tottenham Hotspur manager accepted an improper conduct charge from the FA, which resulted from his language and/or behaviour – both on the pitch and in or around the tunnel area – at the end of the game against Burnley on 23 February.”

Given Pochettino’s previous unblemished record and the fact he apologised publically to Dean, it seems a harsh end to this incident.

What the Spurs manager did was overstep the line, but he still remained calm while in a conversation with the experienced referee.

Tottenham will now be without their boss for Saturday’s trip to Southampton and the clash at Liverpool at the end of this month on March 31.

Pochettino will have to watch both fixtures from the stand and this news will only add to his overriding feeling that England’s football authorities are not doing enough to help the club this season.