On Sunday evening outside St Pancras station, the rare combination of Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur both playing home games at the same time really came into its own. Small clusters of supporters, congregated outside pubs or heading for trains to take them north of London and away from the 2025-26 season, broke out into broadly friendly discussion.
The primary ammunition was from Arsenal fans lamenting their Tottenham counterparts for celebrating staying in the Premier League. “Have some shame” was the theme of their catcalls. You actually cheered your team winning a must-win match that will have lasting consequences for the club’s future. Weirdos!
This is fan banter 101, the pure white noise of tribalism that is easy to ignore unless you are a tourist waiting for the Eurostar home and wondering what on earth is going on. But celebration policing creep is real and, this season, the arrest rate is high.
After Arsenal beat Atletico Madrid to reach their first Champions League final for 20 years, Wayne Rooney scolded Mikel Arteta and the players: “I think the celebrations are a little bit too much. Celebrate when you win!” John Terry subsequently did the same thing, although to be fair that counts as one of the least unpleasant things Terry has said.
