Tottenham’s situation in the Premier League is complicated. The Spurs did not get past a draw at home to Brighton on Saturday and occupy one of the relegation places. An error by Kevin Danso caused Georginio Rutter to score the equalizer in the 95th minute. A mistake that has caused an unacceptable wave of racist abuse towards the player that the club has had to condemn in a statement
“Since yesterday’s game against Brighton, Kevin Danso has been, and continues to be, the subject of serious and abhorrent racist abuse on social media. We have heard and seen vile and dehumanising racism. Behaviour that undoubtedly constitutes a crime. It will not be tolerated. The club is taking immediate action. We are reporting all identified content to the Metropolitan Police and the relevant authorities in the country where the perpetrators reside, as well as to the relevant social media platforms. We will press for the severest possible action to be taken against each and every individual we identify,” the statement begins.
“Kevin has our full and unconditional support as a player and as a person. No one at this club will stand alone in the face of this.Nothing related to form or league position can excuse or explain racist abuse. There is no relationship between performance on the pitch and the right to discriminate against a player. Criticism of performance is part of the game. Racism is not,” Tottenham continued.
Harsh sentences
“We work with specialist third parties who are dedicated to monitoring online abuse, investigating incidents and identifying perpetrators. Perpetrators of abuse could face prison sentences, football banning orders, criminal records, fines, community service orders or educational programs imposed by the police. We have secured criminal convictions following abuse against our staff and players, including people living abroad, and have also imposed indefinite club bans,” the statement continued.
“We call on X, Instagram and all platforms to act quickly and decisively when racist abuse is reported. We also encourage anyone who witnesses such abuse to report it directly to us at report@tottenhamhotspur.com so that we can take the strongest possible action. There is no place for racism at Tottenham Hotspur. There is no place for racism in football,” the English club’s statement concluded.
