Djed Spence was disappointed to be substituted during the second half of Tottenham Hotspur's clash against Nottingham Forest. The 22-year-old defender, who had suffered a knock earlier in the game, was replaced by Ben Davies on the hour mark, and the decision by Thomas Frank didn't go down very well.
Spence appeared to question the Dane's decision as he walked off the pitch, gesticulating with his arms. The England international, who helped Forest secure promotion to the Premier League in 2022, then received a standing ovation from the home supporters at the City Ground.
Once seated in the dugout, Spence threw his jacket on the floor. Shortly after the 25-year-old came off, Ibrahim Sangaré extended Forest's lead to three goals, smashing the ball past Guglielmo Vicario from outside the box.
It's not the first time that Spence has clashed with Frank this season. Last month, he and Micky van de Ven publicly snubbed their manager in front of the television cameras following a humiliating defeat to Chelsea.
The Dane marched onto the field after the game to console his players, and they both ignored him. Frank downplayed the incident in his post-match press conference; he later claimed to have accepted an apology from Spence and Van de Ven.
"All the players are of course frustrated," said the Spurs boss. "They would like to do well, they would like to win, they would like to perform well, so I understand that.
"I think it is about which is difficult to be consistent in good times and in bad times. That is why I went around to the fans as I did. It is more fun when we win, I can tell you that."
On whether the behaviour of Spence and Van de Ven was acceptable, Frank said: "I understand why you ask the question, but I think that is one of the small issues. We have Micky van de Ven and Djed Spence, who are doing everything they can.
"They perform very well so far this season, and everyone is frustrated. We do things in a different way, so I don’t think it is a big problem."
Then, speaking to reporters a couple of days later ahead of the 4-0 win over Copenhagen in the UEFA Champions League, Frank cleared the air. He said: "Yes, Micky and Djed came into my office yesterday unprompted.
"They just wanted to say sorry for the situation. They didn't want it to look bad or disrespectful or all kind of perception you can get in this beautiful media world.
"That was not their intention at all towards me or the team or the club. They were just frustrated with the performance, the loss and the booing during the game."