Tottenham’s position in Group B of the Champions League looks much better after their 5-0 thrashing of Red Star on Tuesday.
They will now travel to Belgrade in a couple of weeks’ time to take on the Serbian club once again and three points in that game could almost seal qualification to the knockout phase.
Red Star’s fans were not allowed to attend the game at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Tuesday as punishment for racist chanting against Finald’s HJK Helsinki but a large group of fans still managed to get tickets to the game (The Telegraph).
According to a report in the Daily Mail, Tottenham are preparing for the possible flash points in the return leg as there is some history of racist behaviour from the crowd in Belgrade.
Spurs full back Danny Rose was himself reportedly subject to racist chants while in action for England U21’s in Serbia in 2012 and this will be the first time the 29-year-old will be returning to the country since the event if selected in the squad (BBC).
The report also claims that Tottenham have already held talks with Kane over possible incidents and have tapped into his knowledge of handling the unfortunate incident in Sofia a week and a half ago.
In that game, the England captain acted as the liaison between the referee Ivan Bebek and his players and instigated the first step of UEFA’s three step protocol to be followed in case of racist abuse.
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It is suggested that the club will ensure the players are as well prepared as possible should they be on the receiving end of racist chanting or abuse in Belgrade.
Spurs Web Opinion
While the scenes in Sofia a fortnight ago were unfortunate, they did help bring to light the dire state of the current problem with racism in football. Given how deep-seeded the problem seems to be it is unlikely that these issues are going to be overcome anytime soon. If Spurs players are on the receiving end of racist chants at Belgrade, then I am sure Kane will fully support his players in however they wish to respond.
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