Tottenham's Dele Alli to learn length of European ban by weekend

Fate | Dele Alli will this week learn how long he will be banned for
Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty Images
Tom Collomosse23 March 2017

Dele Alli is expected to learn how many of Tottenham’s European fixtures he will miss next season on Friday.

Uefa’s independent disciplinary committee are meeting to discuss the cases from recent matches in the Champions League and Europa League, with Alli’s red card in the 2-2 draw with Gent at Wembley on February 23 one of the incidents to be examined.

It is believed they will reach a verdict before the weekend.

Alli was sent off for a tackle late in the first half on Gent midfielder Brecht Dejaegere, as Spurs were eliminated from the Europa League 3-2 on aggregate.

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The most likely punishment looks to be a three-match suspension. The other possible outcomes, which are deemed far less probable, are a one-match ban or a five-match ban.

If Tottenham achieve automatic qualification for the group stages of next season’s Champions League, a three-game penalty would make Alli unavailable for half of their first-round matches.

Given his importance to the side – Alli has 17 goals in all competitions this season – it would be a significant blow to Spurs before the competition has even started.

After scoring from the penalty spot in Spurs’ 2-1 win over Southampton last Sunday, Alli revealed he had spoken to manager Mauricio Pochettino about controlling his aggression effectively.

The England star said: "We have had a few talks and he has been really supportive. It is nice to have a manager behind me who backs me and trusts me as much as he does.

"I am still young. I am 20, and there are going to be a lot of ups and downs in football. That is the way it is. But it is important that if things don’t go my way, I learn from them and keep improving.

"I think I have definitely calmed down a bit this season but I am never going to take that [aggression] away from my game. I am never going to say sorry for wanting to win and for trying as hard as I can. Sometimes things happen and you have to learn from them but I always want to win.

"There have been so many things to learn from this season for me, as there were last season. Everyone makes mistakes and it is important you bounce back.

"I felt horrible straight after the red card against Gent but it was important I put it behind me and kept improving."

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