LONDON -- Chelsea manager Antonio Conte dismissed suggestions that the club could be deducted points after last week's brawl with Manchester City players.
Conte was speaking after watching his team defeat West Bromwich Albion 1-0 at Stamford Bridge to record a ninth Premier League victory in a row.
Diego Costa's 76th-minute goal broke the deadlock and sent Chelsea three points clear at the top of the table.
But a story in the Sunday Mirror claimed the Blues could yet see their tally of 37 points trimmed if the Football Association decides to impose a harsher punishment for the altercations that marred the closing minutes at the Etihad Stadium.
Chelsea have been charged with failing to control their players and staff during the incident, but because it is their fifth breach in the last 19 months there is a possibility that the governing body could decide a fine is insufficient punishment.
But when asked about the possibility of a deduction, Conte said: "I think you are joking. If you involved in a situation and the fault is not yours, why you must pay? Why?
"I don't understand this because at the end of the game my players tried to keep calm. We are trying to improve in all aspects, and also this.
"You must be honest to understand when there is a fault of both teams, or one or the other."
When informed of Chelsea's prior misdemeanours, Conte added: "Yes in the past, but now we are different.
"I don't know what happened in the past. I know what happened in the present, and after the City game you could see very clearly that my players tried to keep calm."
Chelsea and City are likely to find out the extent of their punishments before the Blues travel to the Stadium of Light to play Sunderland on Wednesday.