Tottenham fans are something special. We’ll leave that statement open to interpretation. But if Sunday’s 3-0 win over Manchester United shows, Spurs‘ fans’ passion and zeal can get out of hand.
The club is condemning a section of the fanbase who attended the match at Old Trafford on Sunday for their homophobic chants directed at Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta.
Arteta has been in the Premier League spotlight lately, most likely because his Gunners are the closest rival to Manchester City for this year’s title. The verbal jousting between him and his role model and now adversary Pep Guardiola over the ‘dark arts’ in last week’s draw is becoming fodder for Spurs fans.
What did the Spurs fans chant?
After Spurs new striker Dominic Solanke sealed the final goal in Sunday’s win, the celebration became corrosive remarks about the Arsenal boss.
The chant alludes to Solanke as being “f*** class” with Arteta’s name thrown in as someone who “takes it up the arse.”
“The Club is aware of abhorrent homophobic chanting from sections of our away support at Old Trafford today,” issued Tottenham in a club statement.
“This is simply unacceptable, hugely offensive and no way to show support for the team.
“The Club will be working closely with the Police and stewards to identify anyone instigating or joining in with the chanting – we shall take the strongest possible action in accordance with our Sanctions and Banning Policy.
“Supporters in attendance today can report anything they’ve seen or heard in confidence to supporterservices@tottenhamhotspur.com. We shall be continuing our work with our LGBTQ+ supporters’ association, Proud Lilywhites, to ensure a welcoming and inclusive environment for all fans on matchdays.
“We are justly proud of our superb and loyal support, home and away. However, we all have a responsibility to act as ambassadors of Tottenham Hotspur and discrimination of any kind has no place at our Club.”
This wasn’t the first team the ugly chant did the rounds. A section of Spurs supporters debuted the adhorrent tune during the Gunners’ victory over their North London rivals 1-nil in Matchweek 4.
“Why are we even mentioning Arteta in a chant praising Solanke? It’s embarassing even before you get to the homophobic part. Any fan who sang this at Old Trafford today should never attend a Spurs match again,” said fan Clay Winstead.
Spurs fans must do better. Their boss, the ever-pragmatic and no-nonsense Aussie Ange Postecoglou, won’t expect less.
