Thomas Frank has clarified his comments regarding Guglielmo Vicario being booed by Tottenham fans, which he made following his side’s loss to Fulham.
Vicario had a poor lapse in judgement and essentially gifted Fulham their second goal, with Harry Wilson scoring in an empty net after the Italian had come a long way out of his area.
Some Spurs fans reacted by booing their goalkeeper the next few times he touched the ball.
There were even ironic cheers when the 28-year-old made a save, which is a treatment usually reserved for opposition players.
After the game, Frank said that booing your own players is unacceptable and suggested that those who did it are not true Tottenham fans.
Thomas Frank clarifies his thoughts on Tottenham fans’ booing
Some Spurs fans were angered by Frank’s comments, insisting that it is not appropriate for the 52-year-old to decide what a true Spurs fan is and is not.
The Tottenham head coach has now clarified his comments, reiterating that he does not think fans should mock their own players in the middle of a game.
Explaining his previous comments, Frank said (via Football.London): “When I said the ‘not true Spurs fan’, what I meant by that just to make it clear was the mocking of one of their own players. He makes a mistake, and there is a little bit of booing after that, as I remember it.
“The next ball he clears and there is like cheering. You can’t do that. The opponent can do that, you can’t do that as a fan. That’s where I would stand by what I said. The booing during the game I don’t think, is helpful, we are all different.”
Frank is absolutely right in his assessment of Spurs fans
Some Spurs fans appear to be deliberately obfuscating what Frank said after the defeat against Fulham.
The Dane has always maintained that fans have every right to boo the team after the final whistle if they are not happy with the performance.
In this case, he was not even talking about fans who booed during the game. He specifically referred to those mocking Vicario.
Those who jeer and mock Spurs players during the game are essentially working against their own team’s interest and actively making it harder for their players and easier for their opposition.