Thomas Frank's Arsenal Mistake Sparks Explosive Outburst from Tottenham Captain
Tottenham Hotspur boss Thomas Frank described it as "incredibly foolish" for attention to be drawn to a photograph showing him carrying a coffee cup bearing Arsenal's logo—with the Danish manager's uncomfortable evening made worse by Bournemouth's last-gasp victory and skipper Cristian Romero's social media outburst.
Spurs opened the scoring at the Vitality Stadium but found themselves behind with 12 minutes remaining when João Palhinha emerged to equalize at 2–2. However, an eighth Premier League loss was sealed by Antoine Semenyo's dramatic injury-time winner—a strike that meant Spurs have collected merely five points from their last 18 available in the Premier League.
Adding salt to the wound, Frank was photographed by cameramen before kickoff walking through Bournemouth's venue carrying a coffee cup. Regrettably, the cup somehow featured Arsenal's emblem—an oversight that predictably triggered fury among fans across social media networks.
Frank's media briefing concentrated mainly on the match outcome, but naturally the photograph was raised with him—the ex-Brentford boss wasn't pleased with this line of inquiry, however, and declared he wouldn't have used the cup if he'd been aware of what was printed on it.
"Absolutely didn't notice it. I believe it's reasonable to say that we're not securing every single football match so it would be totally, utterly foolish of me to grab a cup with Arsenal," Frank explained. "Is there somebody believing I've done that? All the personnel has done it.
"They've been in the dressing room, the match before ours. It's standard to grab a cup, give me an espresso, I do that before every match. I believe actually it's somewhat disappointing in football that I need to be questioned about that.
"I believe we're certainly heading in the wrong direction if we need to concern ourselves with me having a cup with another logo of another club, naturally I'll never do that. That's incredibly foolish."
Romero Explodes on Social Media
Palhinha and Tottenham defender Micky van de Ven became involved in confrontations with Spurs' supporters following the final whistle. Those who had traveled to support the Europa League participants were obviously frustrated by their team's display, but few would have anticipated the players approaching and engaging in heated exchanges.
The problems didn't end there as Romero, Spurs' skipper, turned to social media following the match to publish a detailed message that seemed to criticize those in senior positions at Tottenham.
"Apologies to all supporters who follow us everywhere, who are constantly there and will remain so," Romero shared on Instagram. "We are accountable, there's no question about that. I am the first.
"But we will continue confronting it and attempting to reverse the situation, for ourselves and for the club.
"At moments like this, it should be other individuals coming forward to speak, but they don't—as has been occurring for several years now. They only appear when things are going well, to share a few falsehoods.
"We'll remain here, working, staying united and giving our everything to turn things around. Especially at moments like this, staying silent, working harder and moving forward all together, is part of football.
"All together, it will be simpler."
Romero later modified the post, deleting the "to share a few falsehoods" phrase, but it attracted considerable attention from his 5.1 million followers and prompted teammates Pedro Porro and Richarlison to share their own supportive messages. It has since been removed by the Argentine.