Mauricio Pochettino tells Uefa to 'F*** off' ahead of CL final | OneFootball

Mauricio Pochettino says Tottenham will flout a Uefa rule before next Saturday’s Champions League final.

As as tradition before European games, both Spurs’ and Liverpool’s starting XIs will line up for a pre-match team photo ahead of kick-off in Madrid.

But Lilywhites boss Pochettino believes it isn’t fair to exclude the substitutes from the photo and is planning to squeeze his entire 23-man squad into the shot.

“Always I was so upset, because the picture is the starting XI and then, if you win the final, only those eleven players are going to be on the wall,” the Argentine told reporters.

“And that upset me, because maybe some guy came from the bench, scored twice and was the hero. But in the history it’s only the starting XI and ‘Oh, that is the team that won the final.’

“I say: “F*** off!” What I want is all the players before the start of the game — 22 or 23 — in the picture on the pitch. That is the team that won or lost. In the Bernabeu [in 2006 when Espanyol beat Real Zaragoza] we did that. I was one of the captains and I said: ‘I want it so that everyone is on the wall, on the picture, if this team win the final. Not only eleven. That is completely unfair.’

“People care a lot about that. The players care more than we believe. When I was a player I always fought with the organisation and the club. And the same now I’m a manager. I’m going to propose it [for the Champions League final].

“I understand that after, the starting XI is going to be there. But I want to tell the club: ‘Don’t use the [photo of the] starting XI, use the whole squad.'”

Famous examples of substitutes having a decisive impact on Champions League finals include Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer for Manchester United in 1999, and former Spurs winger Gareth Bale for Real Madrid against Liverpool last season.