Mauricio Pochettino has been charged by the Football Association after he furiously confronted referee Mike Dean at the end of Tottenham Hotspur’s defeat by Burnley on Saturday.

The FA alleges that the Spurs manager’s behaviour after the final whistle, when he appeared to be incensed by a comment made by Dean, amounted to two counts of improper conduct.

The charge, which could result in Pochettino receiving a touchline ban or fine, came hours after Dean was stood down as fourth official for the match between Spurs and Chelsea on Wednesday night.

Professional Game Match Officials Limited, the body responsible for the appointment of officials, decided to remove Dean from the game and instead send him to Manchester City’s meeting with West Ham United.

If Dean had remained on duty at Stamford Bridge, he would have spent the evening in close proximity to Pochettino on the touchline. Andre Marriner will now act as fourth official instead.

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Pochettino has not revealed what was said during his exchange with Dean, when he was also joined by his assistant Jesus Perez in berating the referee. The Spurs manager had admitted after the match, though, that he had “crossed the line”.

Pochettino has until 6pm on Thursday to respond to the charge. A ban would only be likely if Pochettino is found to have used abusive or insulting language towards Dean, whose report of the game was examined by the FA on Monday.

It would be the first time that Pochettino has been banned or fined during his managerial career in England, which started at Southampton in 2013.

He did, however, become the first Premier League manager to be warned for his touchline behaviour under new regulations introduced by the FA. Pochettino received a Stage 1 warning for misconduct following a victory over Fulham at Wembley in August.

In a statement, an FA spokesperson said: “Mauricio Pochettino has been charged with two breaches of FA Rule E3 following the game against Burnley on Saturday.

“It is alleged the Tottenham Hotspur manager’s language and/or behaviour at the end of the fixture - both on the pitch and in or around the tunnel area - amounted to improper conduct.”

Pochettino hinted after the game at Turf Moor that he would accept the FA’s decision if the governing body decided to launch disciplinary action. “I will accept everything that can happen from the Football Association but I hope they won’t go any further,” he had said.

Pochettino had complained about a corner awarded to Burnley in the build-up to the home side’s opening goal at Turf Moor, and was unhappy about several decisions that went against his side.

The Spurs manager began the angry exchange with Dean after crossing onto the pitch after the final whistle. He appeared to then walk away from the referee before turning around furiously and storming back towards the referee.

He was joined by Perez, who jabbed a finger towards Dean’s face, with both Spurs coaches appearing to have been angered by a comment made by the referee. Pochettino could be heard telling Dean to “repeat it on camera”.