Tottenham Hotspur scraped a narrow 3-2 victory over Vitesse on an eventful Thursday evening in the UEFA Europa Conference League as Antonio Conte kick-started his tenure with three valuable points at his new club.
Spurs began the game as the dominant side, scoring three goals within the first thirty minutes, only to concede twice in the third quarter of the game, before heading down the tunnel at half-time.
Son Heung-Min, amongst the lively performers on the night, opened the scoring in the 14th minute after a series of promising attacks by the home team.
However, as Spurs fans rejoiced the first goal scored under the ‘Conte Era’ and in their team’s visible change in approach from the first whistle, few were rightfully disgruntled after they spotted a racist away fan mocking Son’s appearance by making a racist slant-eye gesture.
Son, who produced an emphatic finish to break the deadlock, delivered a fitting reply as he celebrated in front of the away support, resorting to the traditional ear-cupping celebration in an attempt to dismiss those mocking his appearance.
The reason why Sonny made a celebration infront of away fans. See the right top conor pic.twitter.com/RJcnDaGo8U
— nsksio (@nsksio) November 5, 2021
Despite taking the knee – a marker for collective solidarity with the black lives matter movement – systematic and ancestral racism continues to impede the progress of sports and sportspersons from BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour) backgrounds, the world over.
However, with players such as Son silencing uninvited critics by displaying solid performances, racism and the many other ills of society are likely to be collectively tackled, one step at a time.
