Spurs want a journalist banned from covering their games after raising concerns with the Premier League about a video.
Tottenham Hotspur have asked for a reporter to be banned from covering the club after making an official complaint to the Premier League about a controversial video.
The club was upset after seeing a video showing an ESPN Brazil journalist joining in on anti-Spurs chants with Arsenal fans. Joao Castelo-Branco, who supports Arsenal, appeared in the video in São Paulo, Brazil, watching Arsenal’s 1-0 win over Brazil. Wearing an Arsenal shirt, he can be heard singing the well-known “We hate Tottenham” chant, which includes offensive language about Spurs.
Once the club found out, they complained to the Premier League, as reported by The Times. They asked that Castelo-Branco no longer cover Spurs in any way, including interviews with coach Roberto De Zerbi or players.
Discussions are ongoing between Spurs and ESPN Brazil to sort out the situation. The club does not want to ban the whole broadcaster but is upset about how Castelo-Branco acted as an individual representing them.
Castelo-Branco has since removed the video and apologized sincerely. He sent an email to the club and joined an online meeting with the Premier League and ESPN Brazil to explain himself.
In a comment to The Times, Castelo-Branco said, “I want to apologize to Spurs for the video I made with Arsenal fans in Brazil singing a chant that was disrespectful to Tottenham. As a correspondent working in the UK, I realize I made a mistake. The video was shared on the podcast’s Instagram and my personal page.”
He added, “I understand how it could offend Spurs and their fans. I should have thought more about singing that and who would see it. After the Premier League told ESPN about Spurs’ concerns, we agreed to take it down. I hope we can move forward, and I will be more careful about my actions in the future.”
While Castelo-Branco is not a dedicated Spurs reporter, he covers football in England and attends many Premier League games. He has a big social media following, with over 168,000 followers on Instagram and 188,000 on X. He is part of ESPN Brazil’s Correspondentes Premier podcast, which has 42.1K followers on Instagram.
On the pitch, Spurs’ three-game winning streak ended on Saturday when they lost 1-0 to Leeds at Elland Road. Noah Okafor scored the winning goal after coming on as a substitute.