Partizan Belgrade 0 Tottenham 0: Uefa investigates as Spurs rage over anti-Semitic banner in Europa League tie

The Tottenham Hotspur manager, Mauricio Pochettino, was angered by the “unacceptable” anti-Semitic banner displayed by Partizan Belgrade fans in their Europa League opener on Thursday night.
A much-changed Spurs side got their Group C campaign off to a sturdy start by securing a hard-fought 0-0 draw in an intimidating atmosphere in the Serbian capital.
It was a solid performance overshadowed by an anti-Semitic banner in the home end, inspired by the Only Fools and Horses logo. The name was changed to “Only Jews and Pussies” and was displayed at Partizan Stadium throughout the match.
Uefa is investigating the issue pointed out to them by Tottenham officials, with a delegate from the governing body taking photographic evidence after the match.
“I didn’t see it,” Pochettino said. “The club is aware but I did not see [it myself]. But if this is true, then it is an unacceptable thing. It is very disrespectful. This is a shame, very disrespectful and unacceptable.”

His Partizan counterpart, Marko Nikolic, was clearly unaware of the issue when he said: “I want to congratulate the crowd. The support was great and not only great but everything went well. It was a wonderful, sporting environment without the slightest problem.”
It is not the first time Partizan have found themselves in hot water, having been thrown out of the Uefa Cup and fined in 2007 for rioting during a first qualifying round first-leg clash at Zrinjski Mostar.
Thursday night’s incident also came just two years on from the disgusting racial abuse suffered by England Under-21s in a European Championship play-off in Serbia.
Danny Rose, the Spurs left-back, was caught up in the problems that night and was among those rested here. Emmanuel Adebayor, Younès Kaboul, Mousa Dembélé and Nacer Chadli also remained in north London.
It was perhaps unsurprising, therefore, to see Spurs struggle for attacking coherence and having to defend resolutely on a night in which Benjamin Stambouli and Federico Fazio impressed on their full debuts.
Yet they began brightly as Harry Kane rattled the crossbar inside the opening two minutes. However, that was to prove Tottenham’s best chance as they struggled to create clear-cut opportunities.
A dead leg sustained by Andros Townsend was the only on-field issue for Spurs, meaning they return to Premier League action against West Brom on Sunday fresh from a solid start to Group C.
Partizan Belgrade Lukac; Vulicevic, B Ilic, Stankovic, Volkov (Petrovic 54), Grbic (Luka 84), Drincic, Cirkovic (Markovic 68), Pantic, S Ilic, Lazovic.
Subs Kljajic, Fofana, Ninkovic, A Zivkovic.
Booked B Ilic, Luka.
Tottenham Hotspur Lloris; Naughton, Fazio, Vertonghen, Davies, Lennon, Bentaleb, Paulinho (Soldado 59), Stambouli (Capoue 72), Townsend (Lamela 59), Kane.
Subs Vorm, Chiriches, Dier, Eriksen.
Booked Townsend, Davies.
Referee A Yefet (Israel).
Att 21,000.