It appeared to be an advertising masterstroke – Tottenham commissioned a series of posters at the end of last season boasting that their new stadium would be ‘the only place to watch UEFA Champions League in London’ during 2018-19.
The posters, which appeared at London Underground stations and elsewhere, trolled their capital rivals Arsenal and Chelsea, who were destined for a season in the Europa League.
But the joke has seemingly backfired. With Tottenham’s new 61,500-seater home delayed until December, their poor form in Europe means fans may not see any Champions League football at their new home this season at all.
Tottenham commissioned these posters at the end of last season mocking London rivals Arsenal and Chelsea by saying their new stadium would host Champions League football
Tottenham’s Champions League ambitions hang by a thread after their draw with PSV
Mauricio Pochettino’s team face an uphill struggle to make it into the knockout stages
Tottenham are eight points behind Barcelona and five behind Inter Milan in Group B
Wednesday night’s 2-2 draw with PSV Eindhoven means Spurs face an uphill struggle to make it out of Group B, with Barcelona eight points ahead of them in first place and Inter Milan five ahead in second.
Mauricio Pochettino’s men have just three matches to salvage the situation, but one of these is a tough visit to the Nou Camp and another is a home game with Inter at their temporary home of Wembley Stadium.
With the scheduled opening for the new White Hart Lane ground the Premier League match with Burnley on December 15, their remaining two home games in the Champions League group stage will also be at Wembley.
Following their draw in Holland, which saw PSV score an 87th-minute equaliser after Hugo Lloris had been sent off, rival fans used the poster to troll Tottenham.
‘Spurs advertising their new stadium as ‘the only place to watch Champions League in London’ and then going out before they actually open their stadium is the most Spurs things of all time,’ said one tweet.
Fans mocked Tottenham for the poster following their 2-2 draw with PSV on Wednesday night
Tottenham’s new stadium is expected to open in December, after their group stage matches
Spurs have been playing their home matches at Wembley while their new ground is built
One Twitter user posted regulations from the Advertising Standards Authority in response
Fans of Tottenham’s north London rivals, Arsenal, were quick to join in the mockery
Chelsea supporters also saw the funny side as Spurs head towards the Europa League
Another read: ‘Peak banter is Spurs advertising their stadium as the only place you can watch Champions League football in London but as it stands it might not get to see any UCL game.’
One tweeter, an Arsenal fan, added: ‘Would love nothing more for Spurs new stadium never to see Champions League football! Imagine.’
Another, supporting Chelsea, wrote: ‘Tottenham did all them Champions League posters just to join us in Europa.’
One reply posted guidance from the Advertising Standards Authority on what constitutes misleading advertising.
The 61,500-capacity Spurs stadium is taking shape ahead of its December opening
The Spurs megastore opened at the new stadium this week as construction continues
The new state-of-the-art stadium was meant to open for Tottenham’s game with Liverpool on September 15 but a series of construction delays have seen them stay at Wembley for longer than planned.
Their game against Southampton on December 5 is expected to be the last at their temporary home before the Burnley game sees the curtain raised.
Two test events – one with a capacity of up to 30,000 people, the second for a capacity of 48,000 – are scheduled for late November and early December to test safety systems.
Haringey Council will only grant the necessary safety certificates after these two test events have been held.