Tottenham Hotspur is in the Champions League round of 16 and will face Atlético Madrid there—but misconduct by its own fans in Frankfurt has now earned the English club a penalty.
At the end of January, Tottenham Hotspur won 2-0 at Eintracht Frankfurt in their final Champions League group stage match thanks to goals from Randal Kolo Muani (47′) and Dominic Solanke (77′), finishing the group stage in fourth place. However, the misconduct of some individuals in the Spurs section cast a dark shadow over the game. Three individuals made the Hitler salute towards German fans during the game. UEFA has now punished this discriminatory behavior with a fine of €30,000. UEFA’s Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body (CEDB) confirmed the penalty against the top English club, which is struggling badly in the Premier League this season and is currently in 16th place, just four points above the relegation zone.
The relatively small fine is unlikely to seriously affect the financially strong London club, but the fact that their fans are now on probation for a year is more significant. This is because the next offense will result in the exclusion of away fans from an away game.
Perpetrators already identified and banned
At least the three perpetrators from Frankfurt have already been identified and have been “banned indefinitely in accordance with the club’s sanctions and exclusion policy.” This was announced by Spurs, who emphasized that as a club, they “strongly reject any form of discrimination and have therefore taken the strictest possible measures. The repugnant behavior of a minority of so-called fans that night in no way reflects the values of our club and its supporters.”
Incidentally, Spurs have not won a game since the Frankfurt match, going five games without a victory and most recently suffering four defeats in a row. On Thursday (9 p.m.), Tottenham now has a home game against Crystal Palace in the league, before the first leg of the round of 16 at Atletico Madrid exactly one week later. Then the Spurs fans will once again be under observation.