Many Tottenham Hotspur fans have been responding to a tweet that was recently posted by Spurs-focused Twitter account @thespursweb which has shared the news that Martin Atkinson is set to officiate Sunday’s clash between Tottenham and Arsenal.
Atkinson, who has refereed 418 English top-flight games in his career, according to Transfermarkt, last officiated a Spurs fixture on 13th September when the Lilywhites suffered a 1-0 defeat at home to Everton in what was their first game of the 2020/21 Premier League season.
At this stage of the season, he has handed out 14 yellow cards, one red card and awarded one penalty kick in the eight Premier League games that he has overseen.
So, how did these Tottenham Hotspur fans react to the news that Martin Atkinson is set to referee Sunday’s north London derby?
Martin Atkinson will be the referee for our clash against Woolwich Wanderers on Sunday #THFC #COYS pic.twitter.com/0xYdbk6pQ9
— The Spurs Web ?? (@thespursweb) December 1, 2020
After this news was shared by @thespursweb, their tweet drew a largely negative reaction from plenty of Tottenham fans, with some supporters of the north London club indicating that they believe this will result in Spurs losing on Sunday.
O noooo that can’t be good!
— Mansur Ali (@MansurAli211) December 1, 2020
Announce loss then
— Joe (@_JoeGTHFC) December 1, 2020
we lost then
— Kailahh | BALE IS HOME (@TheOnlyKailahh) December 1, 2020
Loss incoming
— Clément (@cLm_hbt) December 1, 2020
In their tweet, @thespursweb made reference to the fact that Arsenal used to be based in the south-east London district of Woolwich before they moved to Highbury back in 1913, by referring to the Gunners as ‘Woolwich Wanderers’ and some Spurs supporters found this funny.
lol woolwich wanderers https://t.co/nTuSUHkMKj
— the artist formerly known as rachel rey (@rachberlin) December 1, 2020
Woolwich Wanderers ???
— Mark Malone (@markmalone91) December 1, 2020
Are you worried by this news?
YES
NO
So, while some Tottenham fans simply took this opportunity to laugh about @thespursweb’s joke, it’s clear from these tweets that plenty of Spurs supporters are concerned about this referee news.