MusaTottenham Hotspur have reportedly been left furious after discovering footage of an ESPN Brazil journalist joining Arsenal supporters in singing offensive chants directed at the north London club.
Joao Castelo-Branco, an Arsenal supporter who works as a correspondent for ESPN Brazil, was captured on video alongside Gunners fans in Sao Paulo, Brazil, celebrating their side’s 1-0 victory over Brazil.
Dressed in an Arsenal shirt, the journalist was seen participating in several chants, including the infamous ‘We Hate Tottenham’ song, which contains derogatory language aimed at Spurs.
The footage has since caused considerable frustration within Tottenham, with the club reportedly raising concerns about the journalist’s conduct and how he represented the broadcaster while carrying out his professional duties.
Discussions are currently taking place between Tottenham and ESPN Brazil in an attempt to resolve the situation. However, Spurs are understood to have no intention of imposing a blanket ban on the broadcaster.
Instead, their concerns are specifically directed at Castelo-Branco and whether his involvement in the chants compromises his ability to maintain professionalism when reporting on the club.
Journalist issues apology after Tottenham complaint
Following the controversy, Castelo-Branco has reportedly taken steps to distance himself from the incident. He removed the video from his social media platforms and issued an apology to Tottenham, acknowledging that his behaviour was inappropriate given his position as a football correspondent.
According to reports from The Times, Tottenham became aware of the footage and subsequently lodged a complaint with the Premier League over what they considered unacceptable conduct.
The club also requested that Castelo-Branco be prevented from covering Tottenham in any professional capacity going forward. That would include attending media duties involving head coach Roberto De Zerbi and interviewing members of the first-team squad.
The journalist has since apologised for his involvement in the chants, addressing the controversy in a statement to The Times.
He said: “I wanted to apologise to the club for the video I recorded with Arsenal fans in Brazil singing a derogatory chant about Tottenham Hotspur Football Club.
“Given my role as a correspondent in the UK, I feel I made a mistake. The video was posted on the podcast Instagram page and reproduced on my personal page.”
Castelo-Branco also acknowledged that he understood why the footage had offended Tottenham and their supporters, admitting that he should have considered the potential consequences before participating in the chants.
He added: “I understand it can be offensive to Spurs and Spurs fans and I should have thought more about singing that and the reach it could have. ESPN was notified by the Premier League about Tottenham seeing and disliking the post and we agreed to delete it.
“Hopefully we can move on and I will rethink and be more careful with the boundaries of having that persona on the podcast.”
Although Castelo-Branco is not specifically assigned to cover Tottenham, his responsibilities as an ESPN Brazil correspondent regularly involve reporting on English football and attending numerous Premier League fixtures.
He also commands a considerable audience across social media, with more than 168,000 followers on Instagram and approximately 188,000 followers on X.
The journalist is also associated with ESPN Brazil’s Correspondentes Premier podcast, which has attracted around 42,100 followers on Instagram.
Meanwhile, the controversy comes at a frustrating time for Tottenham on the pitch. Roberto De Zerbi’s side had been enjoying an impressive spell after recording three consecutive victories, but their positive momentum was brought to an abrupt end on Saturday lunchtime.
Spurs suffered a disappointing 1-0 defeat against Leeds United at Elland Road, bringing their winning run to an end.
Substitute Noah Okafor proved to be the difference between the two sides, coming off the bench to score the decisive goal and leave Tottenham with plenty to reflect on after an otherwise encouraging run of results.
Musa
