Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou has confirmed that Yves Bissouma will be suspended for Monday's Premier League opener against Leicester City after the midfielder shared footage on social media of himself ingesting laughing gas. The Mali international apologised after Snapchat videos surfaced showing him using the class C drug, widely known as nitrous oxide, and Spurs issued a statement saying it will be "dealt with as an internal matter."
During a Thursday press conference, Postecoglou suggested Bissouma had failed in his job as a role model and needed to re-establish trust in his teammates while he sits out the club's opening game of the season. "We've suspended Bissouma from Monday's game. He needs to build that trust back with both me and the group. The door is open for him but behaviour is crucial," Tottenham's manager Ange Postecoglou told the reporters on Thursday.
Bissouma posted a social media video on August 10 in which he was seen inhaling from a balloon containing the Class C drug known as laughing gas, for which he later apologised. "I want to apologise for these videos. This was a severe lack of judgement," Bissouma said in a statement on Monday, "I understand how serious this is and the health risks involved, and I also take my responsibility as a footballer and role model very seriously."
As part of the government's anti-social behaviour action plan, possessing nitrous oxide for recreational purposes has been a criminal crime in the UK from 2023 and can result in a prison sentence. "(I have) been in the game for a long time, when a situation like this arises, I've tried to look at them in a couple of ways. First there's a person and it's Biss and he's made a poor decision," Postecolglou added.
"There are still sanctions involved, and some of those are educational. He is a footballer with responsibilities."