Chelsea head coach Antonio Conte has said that he must always "respect" the decision of the officials after being sent to the stands in his side's 1-0 win over Swansea City.
Just before half time, Conte claimed that Swansea had started to waste time after shutting the Blues out during the opening 45 minutes, leading to the frustrated Italian being ordered away from the touchline.
However, Conte has acknowledged that he made a mistake, and has revealed that he had taken time to apologise to the referee and the fourth official.
The 48-year-old told Sky Sports News: "I saw that the opponent was wasting time and that is the reason I spoke a few times with the fourth official.
"I didn't see that the situation change and I was frustrated with the fourth official. For this reason, I have to apologise to him and the referee. In that moment, I was angry but I know that is it right to apologise to them.
"It is fair, I don't know, but I know that the referee took this decision and for this reason, we have to accept and respect his decision. It is not simple sometimes during the game, there is a lot of frustration but at the same time, I think that you can make a mistake and I did this."
A second-half header from Antonio Rudiger ensured that Chelsea remained in third place in the Premier League table.
Darren Plant
