Tottenham Hotspur have decided to suspend Yves Bissouma ahead of the club's opening game of the Premier League campaign against Leicester City after footage of the midfielder inhaling a substance known as 'hippy crack' surfaced on social media earlier this week. The former Brighton & Hove Albion star filmed himself taking the mysterious substance and shared it on his own Snapchat profile. It wasn't long before the video went viral and an investigation into the situation was launched by the club.
Shortly after Spurs' final pre-season game of the summer, a loss to Bayern Munich, Bissouma was out partying and decided to film himself inhaling 'hippy crack'. Last year, the possession of laughing gas with the intent of getting high on them was made illegal and serial offenders could be punished by up to two years in prison.
While it's unclear whether more will come from the investigation, Spurs have taken it upon themselves to suspend Bissouma for the opening fixture against the Foxes this weekend and speaking about the incident, Ange Postecoglou is not happy.
Postecoglou Says Bissouma Needs to Rebuild Trust
The door is open for the midfielder to do so
News of Bissouma's suspension was broken by his own manager as Postecoglou revealed he wouldn't be available for Monday's match as a result of the incident. Speaking about the situation, the Australian revealed that his player needed to rebuild some trust with himself as well as other players after what had happened.
"He won't be available on Monday. We've suspended him from Monday's game. He needs to build that trust back with both me and the group. The door is open for him and we can help him realise the decisions he makes impact the group."
When talking about where they go from here, Postecoglou addressed how the midfielder could overcome the set-back and work to get back on the good graces of everyone in the club, saying: "Behaviour mate. It's that simple. It's about making better decisions. He was very apologetic to me, the club and everyone involved but that's just part of it."
While he revealed that Bissouma had apologised to the club and everyone involved, he also released a public statement in which he showed remorse for his actions shortly after the video went viral.
Bissouma Called His Own Actions a 'Lack of Judgement'
He's also promised to take his status as a role model seriously
The Tottenham man wasted no time addressing the situation after the video went viral, apologising to fans for what they saw and called the whole thing a severe lack of judgement on his behalf. He went on to address his status as a role model to young supporters and promised that it was something he took seriously.
"I want to apologise for these videos. This was a severe lack of judgment. 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."
It's currently unclear whether he will return to the Tottenham team ahead of their second fixture of the campaign against Everton on the following Saturday.