Tottenham have lodged a formal complaint with the Premier League after an ESPN Brazil reporter who covers their games was filmed joining Arsenal fans in chants against the club.
According to The Times, the video showed Joao Castelo-Branco singing along as Arsenal supporters called Spurs “s***”, and joining in with another chant about how much they “hate” Tottenham.
The clip has since been taken down, and Castelo-Branco has apologised. But Tottenham have told the Premier League they no longer think it is appropriate for him to cover their matches for ESPN Brazil.
What exactly are Tottenham asking for?
This isn’t a move against the broadcaster as a whole. Spurs have made it clear they don’t want to stop ESPN Brazil from covering their Premier League games. The issue is one reporter, and whether someone who has sung those songs on camera should be in the room when Tottenham are working.
The Premier League are now said to be holding talks with Tottenham and ESPN Brazil to settle the dispute.
Castelo-Branco says sorry
The reporter has already sent Tottenham an email apologising, and he joined an online meeting with ESPN and the Premier League. Speaking to The Times, he admitted he got it wrong.
He said: “I wanted to apologise to the club for the video I recorded with Arsenal fans in Brazil singing a derogatory chant about Tottenham Hotspur Football Club. Given my role as a correspondent in the UK I feel I made a mistake. The video was posted on the podcast Instagram page and reproduced on my personal page.”
He went on: “I understand it can be offensive to Spurs and Spurs fans and I should have thought more about singing that and the reach it could have. ESPN was notified by the Premier League about Tottenham seeing and disliking the post and we agreed to delete it. Hopefully we can move on and I will rethink and be more careful with the boundaries of having that persona on the podcast.”
Should the Tottenham complaint end his Spurs beat?
Football journalists are allowed to support a club. Plenty do. The line gets crossed when a reporter who is accredited to cover Spurs is filmed leading the abuse, and then it ends up on his own page for everyone to see.
The apology reads as genuine, and he deserves some credit for owning it quickly. But Tottenham’s position is a fair one. They aren’t trying to shut ESPN Brazil out. They just don’t want this particular reporter asking their players and staff questions, and the Premier League will find that hard to argue with.
On the pitch, the focus turns to Elland Road, where Roberto De Zerbi’s side face Leeds on Saturday lunchtime chasing a fourth straight league win, as our predicted Tottenham lineup for Leeds sets out. A win would add more weight to the question of whether Spurs are finally back, and it is the last game before the November international break.
