Villarreal’s decision to play Thomas Partey the night before he is due in court over multiple sexual offences received a predictable response inside the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Tuesday night: an avalanche of boos any time he touched the ball.

Spurs supporters are predisposed to jeer any former Arsenal player when they face their team, but this was different. This stadium, which hosts numerous concerts each year, was designed in such a way that noise generated from the stands is contained within it; the boos and anti-Partey chants were loud coming at a period in the game that was otherwise quiet.

It was strange watching Partey knowing that the following morning he was due in Southwark Crown Court to answer five counts of rape and one count of sexual assault against three women, which

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