A few months ago I was assaulted on an overground train by a Brentford fan after a home win at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The British Transport Police were rapid in their response, unsuccessfully but immediately halting a Victoria line train to find him, before arresting him the next week on his own way to his team’s home match. Over a few months of back and forth updates with the BTP the case was passed to the Crown Prosecution Service.
This Saturday at a sunny pub with my dad, among chatter about Tottenham’s seasons’ woes while an FA Cup tie played out on the TV screens I got an unexpected call from BTP for a final update. The CPS had decided there was not enough evidence to secure a conviction against the individual.
Of course I wasn’t naive enough to think this wasn’t a probable outcome. The train was disgustingly packed and the case officer had already explained the issue with securing usable footage from the train or even the platform. The officer subsequently explained that the footage recorded by the assaulter’s sons as they filmed the incident in bouts of laughter was not looked at because they are not the individuals under arrest. Essentially, the case was never going to go anywhere with the available evidence coming from such a crammed environment.
Despite assuming the outcome, it was still a punch in the gut. I remembered his smug face looking at me as I asked him to stop, fully knowing he held all the power in that moment and that nobody would stop him. With the case now complete, I wonder if the arrest itself was a big enough wake-up call for the individual or if the outcome will empower him to keep up his toxic behaviour with the knowledge that he can essentially “get away with it”.
The second punch in the gut would come a few hours later when I saw a post by Women of the Lane, a group set up to be a community and bridge between the club and women and non-binary fans, revealing their correspondence with the club over Chris Brown’s scheduled appearance at the stadium. I hadn’t even seen the announcement but in finding the event online I was disgusted.
Spurs were forthcoming with their support over the assault on me, opening an encouraging and frank dialogue. They explained their numerous projects and plans that support women at Spurs, including becoming the first club to sign up to the mayor of London’s women’s safety charter, co-launching Women of the Lane, participating in Haringey council’s “Walk For Women” through Tottenham, and ongoing conversations with Transport for London on how to create a safer environment for travelling fans.
The appearance of a man with convictions for violence and who was once subject to a five-year restraining order after his ex-girlfriend alleged he had been abusive, and who has previously been denied entry to the UK due to serious criminal offence, performing at the very home of my and other women’s beloved football club is more than saddening and disappointing. It rocks the very bones of my fanship for the team I’ve followed and adored for most of my life, through thick and thin. The stadium may be a venue with shrewd revenue capabilities for the owners, but at the very heart is still ultimately the home ground for one of the biggest and oldest Premier League clubs.
The email from Spurs reminding me to renew my season ticket is still lingering, unopened in my inbox. Owning a season ticket was once a dream of mine but that is now muddied, inviting a complex conundrum where I want to continue watching and enjoying my club’s football, yet continuously dreading every journey there and back, feeling anxious and tense as match-day approaches and knowing that despite progress, the club is still platforming an abuser such as Chris Brown.
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There is no perfect football club, and in a sport tarred with historic sexist, racist and homophobic abuse, navigating shifting attitudes allows some bumps in the road. But with a club like Spurs in 2025, you somehow expect better, and begin to question whether these positive conversations are inherently just lip service. My mind keeps returning to the two teenage boys on the train, laughing and filming as their dad committed assault and verbally abused a woman on public transport. I’m not sure what the future of fanship in the men’s game holds, but with the unapologetic platforming of an abuser and the lack of retribution for those carrying out toxic behaviour, it doesn’t feel very hopeful.