Dele Alli has simply been unlucky to be caught up in a storm surrouding a finger gesture made against Slovakia, according to his club manager Mauricio Pochettino.
The Tottenham Hotspur joined England striker Jamie Vardy in looking to dour the flames on the controversial situation, one that came about after Alli was pictured raising his middle finger towards the direction of the referee during England's World Cup qualifier win over the Slovakian's on Monday night.
Not a big issue over 'unlucky' Alli
Despite both Alli and his national team boss Gareth Southgate insisting after the game that the 21-year-old was gesturing jokingly towards teammate Kyle Walker rather than the referee, the issue of Alli's in-game attitude has flared up once more.
Pochettino however, wasn't particularly keen to paint his player as the villain.
"It's true it's not a fantastic gesture," conceded the Argentine, before adding "I don't think it'll be a big issue with FIFA or with us [Spurs]."
Going on to report on how "Alli has improved a lot from last season" in terms of his behaviour, Pochettino once again emphasised that he saw the incident as simply a joke.
"That was a joke with a team mate. He was unlucky because the camera recorded that moment.
"I’m not worried. He told the media afterwards it was a joke with Kyle Walker. There’s a lot of things worse than that situation."
Big week ahead
Pochettino has bigger fish to fry at the moment, with a big week ahead for Tottenham as the Lilywhites continue their domestic campaign, whilst getting their European one underway.
Visting Everton on Saturday, Pochettino will be keen to see his side take all three points after a somewhat disappointing four points from their opening three games.
After that comes the challenge of Borussia Dortmund, who Spurs welcome to Wembley on Wednesday for their Champions League opener.