Thomas Frank’s Arsenal Blunder Topped Off by Tottenham Captain Rant

It was another bad night to be a supporter of the Europa League winners.

It was not a good night for Thomas Frank. / Catherine Ivill/AMA/Getty Images

Tottenham Hotspur manager Thomas Frank said it was “extremely stupid” for there to be focus on a picture of him holding a cup of coffee with Arsenal branding on it—with the Dane’s awkward night compounded by Bournemouth’s dramatic late winner and captain Cristian Romero’s venting session on social media.

Spurs took the lead at the Vitality Stadium but were trailing with 12 minutes to go when João Palhinha popped up to level the scores at 2–2. But an eighth Premier League defeat was confirmed by Antoine Semenyo’s dramatic stoppage-time winner—a goal that ensured Spurs have picked up just five points from the last 18 available in the Premier League.

To add insult to injury, Frank was snapped by photographers before the game walking in Bournemouth’s stadium with a cup of coffee. Unfortunately, the cup, for some reason, had Arsenal’s logo on it—a blunder which inevitably sparked outrage among supporters on social media platforms.

Frank’s press conference focused on the result for the most part, but understandably the picture was brought to his attention—the former Brentford manager wasn’t amused by the line of question, though, and stated that he wouldn’t have used the cup had he known what was on it.

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Thomas Frank was unaware of the cup’s branding. / Catherine Ivill/AMA/Getty Images

“Definitely not noticed it. I think it’s fair to say that we’re not winning every single football match so it would be absolutely, completely stupid of me to take a cup with Arsenal,” Frank said. “Is there anyone thinking I’ve done that? All the staff has done it.

“They’ve been in the changing room, the game before us. It’s normal to take a cup, give me an espresso, I do that before every game. I think actually it’s a little bit sad in football that I need to be asked a question about that.

“I think we’re definitely going in the wrong direction if we need to worry about me having a cup with another logo of another club, of course I’ll never do that. That’s extremely stupid.”

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Romero Blows Up on Social Media

Cristian Romero (centre) let his frustrations boil over. / JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP/Getty Images

Palhinha and Tottenham centre back Micky van de Ven were involved in altercations with Spurs’ supporters after the final whistle. Those who had paid to follow the Europa League holders were clearly frustrated by the performance of their team, but few would have expected the players to go over and immerse themselves in heated discussions.

The issues didn’t stop there as Romero, Spurs’ captain, took to social media after the game to write a lengthy post that appeared to take a pop at those higher up the Tottenham food chain.

“Apologies to all fans of you who follow us everywhere, who are always there and will continue to be," Romero posted on Instagram. “We are responsible, there’s no doubt about that. I am the first.

“But we will keep facing up to it and trying to turn the situation around, for ourselves and for the club.

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“At times like this, it should be other people coming out to speak, but they don’t—as has been happening for several years now. They only show up when things are going well, to tell a few lies.

“We’ll stay here, working, sticking together and giving our all to turn things around. Especially at times like this, keeping quiet, working harder and moving forward all together, is part of football.

“All together, it will be easier.”

Romero subsequently edited the post, removing the “to tell a few lies” line, but it drew significant attention from his 5.1 million followers and saw teammates Pedro Porro and Richarlison post their own messages of support. It has since been deleted by the Argentine.

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