Following racist insults against Kevin Danso, his club, Tottenham Hotspur, has issued a clear statement backing its defender – and taken immediate action.
After his mistake deep into stoppage time against Brighton & Hove Albion, which led to a late equalizer (2:2), Tottenham’s Kevin Danso was subjected to racist insults on social media. The club stood behind its defender in no uncertain terms the day after and issued a clear statement against racism.
“We have heard and seen vile, dehumanizing racism. Behavior that undoubtedly constitutes a criminal offense. We will not tolerate this,“ reads the statement from the club, which will also involve the police: ”The club will take immediate action. We will report all identified content to the Metropolitan Police and the relevant authorities in the country where the perpetrators are based, as well as the relevant social media platforms. We will press for the strongest possible action to be taken against any individual we identify.” According to the club, offenders now face “prison sentences, stadium bans, criminal records, fines, community service or educational programs ordered by the police”.
The current matchday is taking place under the banner of the Premier League’s “No Room For Racism” campaign. In the fifth minute of stoppage time, with the score at 2-1, Danso made a momentous mistake in his own penalty area when he lost the ball there and Georginio Rutter was able to use it to equalize. As a result, the struggling Spurs, who are currently in a direct relegation spot, did not achieve the hoped-for escape from West Ham United in 17th place.
“Kevin has our full and unconditional support as a player and as a person. No one at this club will ever stand alone in the face of this,“ said the club, meanwhile, backing its player, with the league also speaking out on X: ”We join Kevin Danso and Tottenham Hotspur in condemning the vile racist abuse he has been subjected to on social media. “
Unmistakable words from the club, which is also taking social media platforms to task: ”We call on X, Instagram and all platforms to act quickly and decisively when racist abuse is reported.”