Tottenham have suspended Yves Bissouma for Monday night’s Premier League opener at Leicester City after he was filmed inhaling laughing gas, with head coach Ange Postecoglou saying the midfielder must now rebuild confidence in himself and the team.
Bissouma apparently uploaded footage of himself inhaling nitrous oxide from a balloon to social media on Saturday and later publicly apologized for a “serious lack of judgement.”
Postecoglou says Bissouma will not play at the King Power Stadium due to a “club sanction” in the form of a one-match ban.
“There is one person involved, in this case it is Biss, and he made a really bad decision,” Postecoglou said on Thursday.
“You want to understand that and try to help him. As a club, we can ensure that he doesn’t make decisions like that in the future.”
“Sanctions are still involved in this context and some of those sanctions are designed to educate and make him understand how wrong he was. You always want to give people the opportunity to learn from their mistakes.
“The second part of it is that he is a football player for this club.
“He has responsibilities. He has responsibilities to the club, he has responsibilities to his teammates, he has responsibilities to the fans and everyone associated with the club, and he has failed to fulfil those responsibilities. There must be sanctions for that.”
“He will not be available on Monday.
“We suspended him for Monday’s game. In addition, trust still needs to be built between Biss and me and Biss and the group. He will have to work hard from now on to regain that.”
“It’s nothing to do with one game. He might get a one-game suspension, but he has to earn it. The door is open for him and hopefully we can help him realize that his decisions don’t just affect him and enable him to make better decisions in the future.”
When asked how he could restore trust, Postecoglou said: “Behave, mate. It’s very simple.”
“He will make better decisions and behave better in the future. He is obviously disappointed and has apologized profusely, not only to me but also to the club and everyone involved.”
“But that’s just the first part of the process, the next part now is behavior. Making sure he does the things he needs to do, as we all do. We all make mistakes. It’s about how you find your way out of those mistakes, and what you do is much more important than what you say.”
Possession of nitrous oxide has been illegal in the UK since last year and can result in a two-year prison sentence.
Postecoglou added: “I’m sure Biss is like any other human being. He has people in his life who love him, parents, and they certainly wouldn’t want to see this.
“Then there is the professional responsibility… the example you set as a professional footballer because there are so many people who follow the Premier League and we are all in a pretty privileged position.
“We are well paid for it. But you take responsibility for what you do. Hopefully with education and awareness.”
“There’s a reason why it’s illegal. It’s not just because someone thought, ‘Let’s just ban it for no particular reason.’ There’s a scientific explanation for it.
“He made a bad choice. But in this context, we all make mistakes and there should always be a chance for rehabilitation and redemption for every person, including footballers.
“It’s now up to us to bite.”
