Tottenham take Premier League action after Arsenal incident as apology issued

Tottenham Hotspur have reportedly complained to the Premier League following footage emerged online involving Arsenal fans.

The footage showed a TV correspondent leading anti-Spurs chants alongside supporters of their North London rivals Arsenal, and it was reported on Friday that Tottenham Hotspur had lodged a grievance regarding the video.

Joao Castelo-Branco, who works for ESPN Brazil in the United Kingdom, was the correspondent filmed leading the chants, and he has since issued an apology to Tottenham Hotspur.

Castelo-Branco involved in anti-Spurs chants

Castelo-Branco, who works for ESPN Brazil and is the son of the channel's co-founder, Jose Trajano, was filmed leading and joining in with anti-Spurs chants alongside a group of Arsenal supporters.

The ESPN Brazil correspondent, who is well-known to be an Arsenal supporter, was seen leading chants that included vocalising their hatred for Spurs and dubbing the North London side as “s**t.”

Tottenham Hotspur reportedly took issue with the videos that emerged online of the incident, which was filmed while members of an Arsenal supporters' group watched a match in Sao Paulo, with the club subsequently lodging a grievance with the Premier League.

Spurs have reportedly made it clear they do not believe Castelo-Branco should be the reporter assigned to cover them moving forward, although they have also made it clear they do not wish for ESPN Brazil to stop covering them.

The club have also requested that Castelo-Branco not interview any of their players or manager Roberto De Zerbi, with talks supposedly ongoing as the Premier League mediates the issue between Tottenham Hotspur and ESPN.

Castelo-Branco, who took part in a joint virtual meeting with the league and network, has since deleted the video and issued an apology, which was also emailed directly to Tottenham Hotspur.

The ESPN Brazil correspondent said “I wanted to apologise to the club for the video I recorded with Arsenal fans in Brazil singing a derogatory chant about Tottenham Hotspur Football Club.”

“Given my role as a correspondent in the UK, I feel I made a mistake. The video was posted on the podcast Instagram page and reproduced on my personal page. I understand it can be offensive to Spurs and Spurs fans and I should have thought more about singing that and the reach it could have.”

“ESPN was notified by the Premier League about Tottenham seeing and disliking the post and we agreed to delete it.”

“Hopefully we can move on and I will rethink and be more careful with the boundaries of having that persona on the podcast.”

FGG Says: Spurs understandably upset

Tottenham Hotspur and supporters are understandably upset at the footage that emerged on social media, but after an apology from Castelo-Branco, hopefully all parties can move ahead with a positive solution.