Thomas Frank has been called out for one of the first and certainly not the last times at Tottenham.
Frank has had a rocky time adjusting to life at Tottenham. The Dane has overseen the highest of highs – Spurs 1-0 pre-season win against Arsenal, to name one.
But also the lowest of lows. Morgan Gibbs-White’s extension at Nottingham Forest was a particularly difficult pill for Tottenham fans to swallow.
However, his recent decision concerning Wilson Odobert seems to have cost him the most.
This article includes exclusive comments from Lilywhite Rose owner John Wenham.
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Frank makes ‘surprising’ decision to not play Odobert vs PSG
Frank will still be gutted over Tottenham’s defeat on penalties to PSG in the UEFA Super Cup final this week.
The Lilywhites conceded two goals 10 minutes before the final whistle was blown. Some fans hold this to fatigue while others blame the Dane’s substitutions.
Meanwhile, Odobert remained on the bench despite impressing during pre-season. Lilywhite Rose owner John Wenham – speaking exclusively to Tottenham News – admits that this decision came as a surprise.
“But Tel on the night, I was surprised to be honest with you that he came on before Odobert.” Wenham said.
“I thought Odobert had been good in pre-season and I would have liked to have seen him awarded with another opportunity.”
Tel suffers racism for penalty miss vs PSG
Tottenham issued a statement on Thursday, 14 August, following the racial abuse suffered by Tel after the confrontation.
The Frenchman’s Instagram comments were flooded with racism on the back of his penalty miss. This is not an isolated incident with Bakayo Sako, Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho suffering similar abuse online after missing their penalties in the UEFA Euro 2020 final.
Some of Tel’s teammates have jumped to his defence following the incident. Dominic Solanke and Richarlison have both posted in solidarity via their social media pages.
There remains the hope that these individuals will face consequences for their actions, with Wehnam hoping that Spurs and the necessary authorities intervene.
“Tel the disappointment of that penalty missed and the horrific social media racism he’s had to suffer,” Wenham said.
“Hopefully, the authorities, the Premier League, and Tottenham can do what they can to get these people banned and banned from coming to watch Tottenham as well, if they do.”
Tottenham is set to take on Burnley in the Premier League on Saturday, 16 August. As such, it is hoped that this matter is resolved sooner rather than later and Tel is afforded the justice he deserves.