Spurs fan who threw banana onto pitch: I'm not a racist

A banana thrown from the crowd is seen at the side of the pitch as Arsenal striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang celebrates after scoring the opening goal at the Emirates Stadium in London on December 2
Ian Kington/IKIMAGES/AFP
Megan White4 December 2018
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A Spurs fan charged after a banana was thrown onto the pitch towards Arsenal star Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang at the north London derby has insisted he is not a racist.

Grandfather Averof Panteli, 57, says he found the fruit on the ground and threw it without thinking about the racial implications.

The van driver, from Norwich, flung the skin during the north London derby on Sunday when Aubameyang scored the first of his two goals.

The banana skin is seen flying through the air after Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored the opening goal
Ian Kington/IKIMAGES/AFP

But he told the Sun Online that he "swears on his kids' lives" that he is not racist.

Mr Panteli said: "I am not racist whatsoever. I am actually a Greek Cypriot. I am 100 per cent not a racist. I swear on my kids’ lives that I am not that kind of guy.

"I apologise if I have offended anyone from both clubs, especially Tottenham. It was a mad thing I did and I never meant to offend anyone in any way. I never meant anything by it.

"The Arsenal player was gloating in front of the away fans. He came up towards the away fans about 10m away and he is basically nodding his head and clapping at us.

"Without thinking, I picked up this banana skin from the ground and threw it on the edge of the pitch. I didn’t throw it at the players. It was just on the edge of the pitch."

The banana skin was seen on the pitch during the game at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday
AFP/Getty Images

Mr Panteli said he regrets the incident and intends to plead guilty to throwing a missile on the pitch when he appears at Highbury Corner Magistrates Court on December 18.

The FA have dropped their probe into the incident after police ruled it was not racially aggravated.

But after phoning club bosses to apologise, the dad-of-three, who grew up in north London, was slapped with a lifetime ban from Spurs matches.

Aubameyang scored twice during Sunday's north London derby
AFP/Getty Images

He added that he has been friend with black people all his life and does not have a criminal record, nor has he ever been in trouble with the law.

He told the Sun Online he was once chucked out of the White Hart Lane ground as he ran on the pitch when he was 14.

Football fans condemned the incident after Aubameyang posted a picture of himself with the fruit on Instagram.

Arsenal veteran Ian Wright, who spent seven years at the club and is their second highest goalscorer of all time, slammed Mr Panteli’s actions on Match of the Day 2.

He said: “I've played against Spurs and I've taken a lot of abuse but never ever has it been racial.

“Now Spurs have to deal with this because some idiot has done that.

“It's not only embarrassed Spurs but it has embarrassed the Premier League because it has gone around the world.

"It's really unfortunate to see."

Charlie Watts, 26, and Jason Gannon, 36, were also charged with throwing things onto the pitch, while Paul Wright, 41, was charged with a public order offence.

A Spurs spokesman said: "Behaviour such as this is completely unacceptable and the supporter in question will be issued with a ban."

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