Drinking with the enemy: The espresso cup blunder that enraged Tottenham fans

Tottenham Hotspur boss Thomas Frank has come under fire for drinking out of an espresso cup featuring the logo of the club’s arch-rivals Arsenal as his side slumped to their eighth defeat of the Premier League season away to Bournemouth on Thursday morning (AEDT).

Antoine Semenyo scored in the 95th minute to consign Spurs to a 3-2 loss, netting a double in what is likely to be his final appearance for Bournemouth ahead of a likely transfer to Manchester City.

But the consequences of the result, which leaves out-of-sorts Tottenham reeling in 14th spot, will almost pale in comparison to the consequences of Frank being photographed pre-match holding a coffee cup with Arsenal’s badge on it, highlighting the almost comical levels of tribalism and animosity within English football.

The image went viral during the match, angering Spurs fans, many of whom had assumed it was AI-generated, such was their refusal to believe Frank would put himself in such a position.

Arsenal were the last team to play at the Vitality Stadium in Bournemouth, so the cups were likely left in the away dressing room from their visit at the weekend - although Frank said he had not noticed they were branded.

“I think it’s fair to say that we’re not winning every single football match, so it would be absolutely, completely stupid of me to take a cup with Arsenal [logo on it]. Anyone thinking I’ve done that, or the staff has done that [on purpose is wrong],” he said in his post-match press conference.

The incriminating picture of Thomas Frank before the match.Credit: Getty Images

“They’ve been in the changing room, the game before us. It’s normal to take a cup, give me an espresso - [I] do that before every game.

“I think, actually, it’s a little bit sad in football that I need to be asked a question about that. I think we’re definitely going in the wrong direction if we need to worry about me having a cup with another logo of another club - of course I would never do that, that’s extremely stupid.”

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The result ended a run of 11 games without a win for Bournemouth.

They fell behind early on to a Mathys Tel effort, but turned it around by half-time with Evanilson and Junior Kroupi both scoring for the hosts.

Tottenham had a penalty overturned after Micky van de Ven’s storming run ended with him going down in the area, but the visitors did level in spectacular fashion with Joao Palhinha sending an overhead kick past Djordje Petrovic.

Semenyo had the last laugh though to secure a double for Bournemouth over Tottenham and heap more pressure on Frank, who left Brentford in the summer to replace the sacked Ange Postecoglou at the north London club.

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