November 28 – UEFA seem likely to sanction Tottenham Hotspur for inadequate safety measures after three bizarre one-man pitch invasions interrupted their Europa League match against Partizan Belgrade on Thursday.
The separate incidents all occurred during the first half, with the third leading to a 10-minute stoppage when Ukrainian referee Yevhen Aranovskiy called players and staff off the pitch.
After the first two incidents, UEFA officials spoke to the fourth official, but the third incident prompted Aranovskiy to suspend play.
All three men appeared to be wearing similar t-shirts bearing the name of the same company, leading to speculation that it was an advertising stunt. Tottenham eventually won 1-0 to secure their place in the knockout stage.
If Spurs are fined by UEFA the club may seek to recoup the money from whoever was behind the stunt. UEFA will begin an investigation once it receives the reports from the match officials and its own delegates.
In a statement the club said: “Three pitch invaders at tonight’s match have been arrested and are assisting police with their inquiries. We shall provide an update as soon as we have established the full facts. We apologise to fans for the disruptions caused by this totally unacceptable behaviour.”
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