Troubling footage has emerged of Man City fans reacting angrily to their team’s opening Premier League defeat, with a mob surging towards stewards and others tearing down a flag in incidents that a Spurs fan group has condemned.
A mob of supporters can be seen facing off with stewards in the videos, which also show a rainbow flag that was promoting a Tottenham LGBTQ+ Supporters’ Association being untied by Cityzens who had just witnessed their team’s 1-0 defeat from the away end at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
At least two fans entered the pitch, with well-placed English journalist Faye Carruthers sharing a clip of the chaos and claiming that some supporters had confronted City stars Fernandinho and Ilkay Gundogan.
“Fans on the pitch and Man City supporters remonstrating with their own players,” said Carruthers, whose reporting duties include national radio station Talksport and Sky Sports.
Manchester City supporters clash with stewards at full time. According to talkSPORT’s Faye Carruthers, the City fans untied Spurs’ LGBT flag pic.twitter.com/9hM7yx22QK
— Project Football (@ProjectFootbalI) August 15, 2021
“City fans have untied the Spurs LGBT flag in the far corner as well. All got a bit niggly and nasty at the end – injury to Gundogan as well.”
Boosted by new $139 million midfield signing Jack Grealish and facing a Spurs side shorn of talisman Harry Kane in an absence that is rumored to have been a precursor to his mooted move to City, Pep Guardiola’s side proved underwhelming in the first game of their title defense.
Son Heung-min scored a spectacular second-half winner that would have left the visiting fans frustrated by an unexpected setback.
“Definitely not something we want to see,” flag owners the Proud Lilywhites told their thousands of followers on social media.
“But they untie it, we put it back up. We’re part of this family, this community – we’re not going away.”
Spurs fan and LGBT activist Kit Rackley said that she did not know of any Tottenham fans sitting near the away section and by the flag who had been affected by the unsavory scenes.
Some Man City fans claiming after earlier tweet there was nothing involving some disorder or a Spurs rainbow flag appearing to be removed. Here’s the video pic.twitter.com/zCoL9W8YRb
— Rob Harris (@RobHarris) August 15, 2021
“Just checked our fabulous WhatsApp group for disappearing folks,” Rackley reported. “Nope, all accounted for.
“We’re still there. Taking down the flag hasn’t erased any of us. We’re still here – we’ll always be here.”
Others were less forgiving of the altercations. “Bad losers?” one asked of the City supporters.
Bad losers? The most expensive team in history on the pitch, mercenaries all. Sad bunch.
— Alan (@Alan63520993) August 15, 2021
“The most expensive team in history on the pitch, mercenaries all. Sad bunch.”
Carruthers said stewards had “wrestled” one of the pitch invaders, reporting a “scuffle” amid “ugly scenes” that she called “disappointing” for Tottenham’s security team.
“A few City fans have been in touch to say they were trying to use the flag to help a kid who was being taken off the pitch by stewards,” she added.
Just checked our fabulous WhatsApp group for disappearing folks. Nope, all accounted for! We’re still there. Taking down the flag hasn’t erased any of us. We’re still here, we’ll always be here #COYS! @SpursOfficial
— Kit Rackley (Geogramblings) (@geogramblings) August 15, 2021
Situation has subsided now as fans filter out of the ground. Hard to know what triggered that as it happened on the opposite side of the ground to the press box but two City fans had earlier invaded the pitch. Two Spurs fans from a different part of the ground did the same.
— James Olley (@JamesOlley) August 15, 2021
“I wasn’t insinuating anything with [my previous] tweet. I just videoed what I saw and that was the flag being untied.”
Neither club had made an official public statement about the incident by Monday afternoon UK time.
The showdown was one of the most anticipated games of the first weekend of the Premier League season and was attended by more than 58,000 fans – one of the largest crowds in the UK since the pandemic began.
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