Police arrest two Burnley supporters for “discriminatory gestures” during Tottenham match

Tottenham Hotspur’s 1-0 win over Burnley today was tense for everyone involved. For Tottenham supporters it was because this match was a must-win if they were to keep pressure on Arsenal for a top four finish. For Burnley supporters, it was because the Clarets are awfully close to relegation and so any points are good points.

That made for what was an awfully tetchy match, and unfortunately that carried over into the stands. Spurs announced via social media that two Burnley supporters at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium were ejected and arrested after leveling “discriminatory gestures” at the home fans.

And since Tottenham is a club with a Jewish identity, you already know what those gestures were — fascist salutes. I’m not sure if this is a good thing or not, but one of the arrested supporters was caught on cellphone video doing just that. Content warning: video contains anti-Semitic gestures. Please do not click on the video if this bothers you.

It’s insane that this kind of thing still happens in 2022, and even more crazy that this kind of abuse is so easily waved off as “banter” in the context of football fandom. I choose to believe that every fanbase has these kinds of idiots, and that they do not represent the vast, vast minority of match-going football fans. But it’s still really disturbing to see it happen.

Thankfully these clowns were found and arrested. I would expect nothing less.