A wrong coffee cup, a lost game – and great excitement. Tottenham coach Thomas Frank draws the ire of fans. Why an apparent lapse in a Premier League game has so much explosive power.
This coffee may have left controversial Tottenham coach Thomas Frank with a very bad taste in his mouth. Because the Danish coach of the Europa League winner drank coffee from a mug with the logo of hated city rivals Arsenal FC before the lost game at AFC Bournemouth, there was a hail of criticism on social media.
“I definitely didn’t notice it. It would be totally stupid of me to take the cup if I had known,” Frank justified himself: “It’s a bit sad in football that people have to ask me about it. I would never do something so stupid.”
The background to the faux pas is the fact that Arsenal also played in Bournemouth on Saturday. Accordingly, the visiting teams should always receive cups with their own club logo. Apparently the utensils had not yet been exchanged for the Spurs away game. Finally, Frank was handed the cup by an employee. The fact that the game was lost 2-3 in stoppage time rounded off Frank’s busy day.
The fact that some fans are immediately calling for Frank to be fired has nothing to do with the cup, but rather with the course of the season. Even under the 52-year-old Frank, who only arrived at the start of the season, the Spurs continue to play disappointing football. The club is in 14th place – more than 20 points behind leaders Arsenal.
It all started with Arsenal’s move in 1913
The conflict between Tottenham and Arsenal is over a hundred years old. The conflict arose in 1913 when Arsenal moved from south to north London – just a few kilometers from Tottenham’s stadium. Spurs fans saw this as a provocation and an intrusion into their territory.
Another trigger was Arsenal’s admission to the First Division in 1919, then England’s top division. After the First World War, the league was reorganized after being suspended for many years and expanded from 20 to 22 clubs.
Tottenham, previously in 19th place, had to be relegated to the second division despite the increase. Arsenal, on the other hand, were welcomed into the top flight despite finishing fifth in the division below. A political decision, the decisive factor was probably the far-reaching influence of Arsenal’s then chairman Sir Henry Norris.
Many Spurs supporters saw this as a scandal. Since then, the “North London Derby” has become much more than just a football game.
SUF with dpa
