Chelsea To Give Maurizio Sarri His Own Smoking Area At Stamford Bridge

If you didn't catch yesterday's Premier League action, then you'll have missed the remarkable moment when new Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri resorted to chewing/eating cigarettes on the touchline during their 3-0 win at Huddersfield.

Sarri, who led Napoli to two second-place finishes in three seasons at the Stadio San Paolo, averages around five packets of cigarettes a day, so you can see why it would be difficult to avoid tobacco for such a long period.

Of course, smoking was banned from all stadiums in July 2007, which means the 59-year-old wouldn't be able to spark up during the 90 minutes.

In accordance with Smokefree England, it is against the law to smoke anywhere inside the stadium at Stamford Bridge. This includes the use of e-cigarettes."

But that didn't stop him from chewing a cigarette on the bench.

You need to see it to believe it.

It seems going 45 minutes without a cig is difficult for the Italian, so it looks like Chelsea Football Club will give the manager his very own smoking area at Stamford Bridge, according to The Mirror.

Bundesliga side RB Leipzig once built a temporary wall in the away changing room to split the physio area and allow him space to smoke pre kick off and at half and full time.

And it looks like his current team will give him the opportunity to light up during games.

Sarri is known as a real character in the game and hit headlines last season for smoking in the tunnel while accompanied by personal bodyguards.

I'm not sure if he'll need bodyguards but Sarri was certainly optimistic about a new chapter in his life and reckons Chelsea should be competing for trophies in the coming months.

"It is an exciting new period in my career," said Sarri.

"I hope we can provide some entertaining football for our fans and that we will be competing for trophies at the end of the season, which is what this club deserves."

He's also a great guy, meeting Huddersfield fans after the full-time whistle on Saturday.

Can he lead Chelsea to a Premier League title charge this season?

Let us know in the comments.

Topics: Football News, Maurizio Sarri, Chelsea, Football

Jack Kenmare

Jack Kenmare is a writer at SPORTbible. He's interviewed some of the biggest names in sport, including Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Pele, Carles Puyol and Tim Henman. He dabbles in all things sport but football is his biggest passion. He was once hit in the head by a wayward strike from Nicky Butt and lived to tell the tale.

@jackkenmare_