Tottenham Hotspur have condemned the ‘vile, dehumanising racism’ directed at defender Kevin Danso following the club’s 2-2 draw with Brighton.
The Austrian defender has been subjected to ‘significant’ abuse on social media in the aftermath of the Brighton fixture. Danso’s mistake led to Brighton’s late equaliser, a result that leaves Spurs in the Premier League relegation places.
The 27-year-old has since been subjected to sickening abuse on social media and Spurs have released a statement to slam the ‘abhorrent’ abuse. Spurs have promised ‘immediate action’ to work with authorities to identify perpetrators. The club also called on social media platforms to do more to combat abuse.
“Since yesterday’s fixture against Brighton, which took place during the Premier League’s No Room For Racism weekend, Kevin Danso has been, and continues to be, subject to significant and abhorrent racist abuse on social media.
“We have heard and seen vile, dehumanising racism. Behaviour that is without doubt a criminal offence. It will not be tolerated.
“The club is taking immediate action. We are reporting all identified content to the Metropolitan Police and to the appropriate authorities in the country where perpetrators reside, as well as to relevant social media platforms. We will push for the strongest possible action against each and every person we identify.
“Kevin has our complete and unconditional support as a player and as a person. No one at this club will ever stand alone in the face of this.
“Nothing about form or league position can ever excuse or explain racist abuse. There is no connection between performance on the pitch and the right to target a player with discrimination. Criticism of performances is part of the game. Racism is not.
“We work with specialist third parties dedicated to monitoring online abuse, investigating incidents and identifying perpetrators.
“Abusers could face custodial sentences, football banning orders, criminal records, fines, community orders or police-mandated educational programmes. We have successfully secured criminal convictions following abuse of our staff and players, including individuals based overseas, and we have also issued indefinite Club bans.
“We call on X, Instagram and all platforms to act quickly and decisively when racist abuse is reported. We also encourage anyone who sees abuse of this kind to report it directly to us at report@tottenhamhotspur.com so we can take the strongest possible action.
“There is no place for racism at Tottenham Hotspur. There is no place for racism in football.”
