Tottenham Hotspur head coach Thomas Frank says he expects the fans to give Mathys Tel “a really, really, really big cheer tomorrow,” after the French forward suffered “terrible” racist abuse following Spurs’ penalty shootout defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in the European Super Cup on Wednesday.
Tel – who this summer completed a permanent switch to North London for €35million, plus €10m in potential add-ons, from Bayern Munich following a loan spell in the second half of the 2024-25 season – was a second-half substitute at the Bluenergy Stadium mid-week, replacing fellow summer signing Mohammed Kudus in the 79th minute.
Spurs were 2-0 ahead when the 20-year-old was introduced, but Luis Enrique’s side twice scored late on, first through Lee Kang-In in the 85th minute before Goncalo Ramos scored a headed equaliser in the fifth minute of added time.
In the resulting shoot-out, Tel missed Tottenham’s fourth penalty, allowing Lee to put PSG ahead and on their way to the trophy. After the game, Tel was targeted on social media with racial abuse.
Frank, who will step out for his first Premier League match in charge for Spurs at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium against newly-promoted Burnley tomorrow, anticipates huge support from the home crowd in response.
“It’s, of course, terrible what happened to Matty, and we’re doing everything we can to support him in this situation,” Frank said in his pre-match press conference on Friday morning. “He’s a strong person, and with hopefully support from his family, friends and us he will get through it.
“There’s no real Tottenham supporter that ever will do that,” he added. “The real Tottenham supporters that we’ll see tomorrow at the stadium, they’ll back him, I expect them to. Listen, in tough times we step up together, and I expect the fans to give him a really, really, really big cheer tomorrow.”
Tottenham released a statement on their social channels supporting the forward and condemning the abuse.
“We are disgusted at the racial abuse Mathys Tel has received on social media following last night’s UEFA Super Cup defeat,” it read.
“Mathys showed bravery and courage to step forward and take a penalty, yet those who abuse him are nothing but cowards – hiding behind anonymous usernames and profiles to spout their abhorrent views.
“We will work with the authorities and social media platforms to take the strongest possible action against any individual we are able to identify. We stand with you, Mathys.”
Contacted by The Athletic, Meta, the parent company of social media sites Instagram and Facebook, said they were being proactive in removing the racist posts.
Tel is available to face Burnley tomorrow, with Destiny Udogie in line to miss out again due to a knee injury sustained ahead of Spurs’ pre-season friendly against Luton Town on July 26.
“Every player is available for the team tomorrow. Destiny (Udogie) is progressing, but it’s too early for him to be involved in the squad.”
That includes Yves Bissouma, who was left out of the Super Cup squad due to repeated lateness. Asked whether Frank plans to reintegrate the Mali international, the Dane confirmed that Bissouma would be involved again for their Premier League opener.
“There was a situation. I addressed this. There was a consequence. Bissouma will be in the squad tomorrow. Move forward and we have a big game tomorrow.”
James Maddison, Radu Dragusin (both ACL), Dejan Kulusevski (knee) and Kota Takai (foot) are also sidelined, while Manor Solomon has only just returned to team training after an injury and is not expected to be involved.
(Photo: Francesco Scaccianoce/Getty Images)