Tuesday 3 May 2016 13:48, UK
Tottenham's Danny Rose has apologised for his role in a turbulent London derby against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Monday.
Frustrations boiled over during the match in which Tottenham's title challenge was ended after they surrendered a two-goal lead to draw 2-2.
Referee Mark Clattenburg produced 12 yellow cards, and there were two mass brawls involving players and coaches from both sides.
Tottenham and Chelsea may yet face retrospective action from the Football Association, with Mousa Dembele particularly likely to receive a rebuke after he appeared to claw his fingers down Diego Costa's face during a skirmish at the end of the first half.
There were several other incidents of petulance during the game and matters came to a head again at the full-time whistle when a melee in the tunnel resulted in Chelsea's interim manager Guus Hiddink being pushed to the ground.
Rose, who was booked after he sparked the first brawl as a result of clashing with Willian, was contrite over his role in proceedings, especially with youngsters watching the match on television.
"It is not nice to see for kids here or kids watching on TV. I apologise if it looked bad on TV," Rose said.
"It is a London derby. It is to be expected. We wanted to win and they wanted to stop us having any more say in the title race.
"There are no bad words to say about Chelsea. These are the games you want to be part of. It was a great game."
Erik Lamela also appeared to tread deliberately on Cesc Fabregas' hand, and Eric Dier was lucky not to be dismissed for a reckless challenge, while Costa was also fortunate not to receive punishment after leaning his head into Jan Vertonghen's face.
The ill-feeling continued after the game as another scrum at the entrance to the tunnel saw Hiddink fall to the ground while the likes of Rose, Costa and Vertonghen grappled with each other.
"I couldn't tell you what happened, it was just handbags being thrown," Rose said.
"I saw the Chelsea manager fall on the floor. I hope he is alright. People were saying from the bench that he conducted himself like a true gentleman throughout the whole game.
"He did not want any trouble to be started."
