Tottenham could have beaten Chelsea on Monday night if referee Mark Clattenburg had been "stronger" in the early stages of the game, according to former official Graham Poll.

Spurs were held to a 2-2 draw by their London rivals in a fiercely contested encounter at Stamford Bridge, which effectively handed Leicester the title.

Nine of Mauricio Pochettino's players were booked and tempers boiled over as Clattenburg struggled to keep both sets of players under control.

Mousa Dembele was involved in one of several controversial incidents during the encounter when he appeared to poke Diego Costa in the eye and Standard Sport understands the Belgian is unlikely to face a 10-game ban for his actions.

Spurs lost their discipline as the second half wore on and Poll believes Clattenburg's decision not to punish a number of strong early challenges proved to be detrimental for the visitors.

"Tottenham could have won had Clattenburg been stronger in the early stages," Poll told the Daily Mail.

"It would have been them he punished, which might have made them more disciplined and it was the loss of control that control which cost them their 2-0 lead.

"Sometimes it is the early card and strong officiating which results in an open, flowing match where players get on with it.

"This was such a game," he insisted.

Clattenburg is regarded as one of the Premier League's best referees - and will take charge of this year's FA Cup final - but Poll believes the 41-year-old got it wrong in west London.

"His performance on Monday night will have been a huge wake-up call," Poll continued.

"It is wrong to enter every game with the same approach - that is, keep the cards in your pocket for the first 20 minutes, caution one or two before half-time if your control is threatened and coast through, chatting where possible.

"Watching the game on Monday it was clear that the players were not responding to the chatty, tolerant approach from Clattenburg and merely took advantage of the situation."