Brentford vs Spurs match hit by safety concerns after rare issue delays start

Harry Kane hints at future Tottenham return after completing Bayern Munich move

Brentford and Tottenham’s opening match of the Premier League season was hit by a lengthy delay after a bizarre failure to meet health and safety conditions at the Gtech Community Stadium. The London derby was only seconds away from kick-off when the referee was instructed to delay proceedings due to an issue that raised concerns about public safety inside the ground.

Match officials were informed that there was a problem in supplying water to the stadium, with the issue creating a sanitation issue and potential health hazard for fans and players inside the stadium.

As a consequence, referee Robert Jones was forced to call a halt to the pre-match preparations before he informed both managers, Robert Frank and Ange Postecoglou, of the situation.

Players and coaches from both teams remained on the pitch while they waited to see if the situation would be resolved. And after around seven minutes of waiting, play was allowed to begin.

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A statement from Brentford to supporters read: “Please be aware that we are currently dealing with an issue in relation to the water supply into the stadium which is affecting all related facilities.”

According to Sky Sports’ broadcast coverage, there was still no water inside the stadium at that stage. However, 16 minutes after the game was originally scheduled to kick off, it was finally resolved.

It is customary for players to shower and change into another kit at the break, but this would be not have been possible without running water in the dressing room.

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The action certainly proved to be worth the wait as Spurs raced into an early lead through Cristian Romero’s header, which was allowed to stand after a prolonged VAR view.

But the Bees, backed by their raucous fans, hit back to sting Spurs from the penalty spot, with VAR involved again after Mathias Jensen was brought down by new captain Son Heung-min.

Jones pointed to the spot after viewing the pitchside monitor and Bryan Mbuemo coolly slotted home from 12 yards to bring the hosts level.

Brentford then took the lead through Yoane Wissa after some shoddy defending from Ange Postecoglou’s side, as they faced an uphill battle in their first match without Harry Kane.

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