Antonio Conte believes Tottenham Hotspur have been “penalised” for a “crazy” fixture schedule and urged club officials to be more robust in future discussions with the Premier League to avoid a repeat.
Spurs return to the Champions League for the first time since 2019 with a home clash against Marseille on Wednesday, a game that comes in a run of seven games in 21 days.
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The schedule has been condensed to accommodate a first winter World Cup, taking place in November and December, but the Premier League have so far moved six fixtures including Chelsea vs. Manchester United and Liverpool vs. Leeds to try to ease the situation.
As yet, no matches involving Spurs have been altered and Conte hinted the club have to argue their case better.
“Honestly, to see this schedule about Tottenham is incredible, it is crazy,” Conte said.
“We played three games in six days against Nottingham Forest, West Ham and Fulham. Now we are playing after four days but we are starting to play again three important games Marseille [in the Champions League], City away, Sporting Lisbon away, in six days.
“I think maybe this is the first time in my career to see a schedule like this. Honestly, I tried to check the schedule of the other teams and I have seen in this situation, Tottenham, they have penalised a lot our club, our team.
“In this situation, we were unlucky. In the future, also I spoke with the club, we have to pay better attention to speak also with the Premier League. When there is this type of situation, one day more, one day less, change totally your life and you can drop points.
“I think this is not good for a team like Tottenham. When you want to start to think as a winner, you have to take care of the details. The schedule details are very important for any club, especially for a club that wants to fight for something important. I think we can do much better for the future.”
