Spurs pitch invasions were an internet video prank

Three fans rushed the pitch at various points during the first half of Tottenham's Europa League match against FK Partizan Belgrade on Thursday, leading to the match being suspended by match officials for ten minutes. Now, investigations have suggested the entire thing was just a stupid internet prank.

UK pranksters Trollstation released a video on Twitter (which I'm not going to link to) where they discussed invading the pitch and took bets as to which of the three would be able to stay on the field the longest. All three of them were wearing identical white shirts featuring an electronics manufacturer.

This is a description of Trollstation, taken from their YouTube page: "Trollstation a Online Hidden Camera Prank Show Created By DigiDanTv : Our content is intentionally provocative & controversial with the aim to offend and harass the general public in the name of comedic Satire. Trollstation is a collective of social misfits playing mad ASBO games on the public."

It was assumed at first that the prank was a public relations stunt made by the BassBuds, which is a seller of Tottenham merchandise. BassBuds reportedly issued a statement via Facebook (since taken down) disassociating themselves from the prank, adding: 'We are appalled that the game was interrupted in this manner. We do not condone the interruption of any sporting fixture in this way.' Tottenham has removed all references to BassBuds from their website and publicity while the investigation continues.

The three invaders were arrested, and the investigation continues into what happened. If this was just a prank, it was a remarkably stupid one: Tottenham is likely to be fined by UEFA for the invasions and subsequent halting of play, even though there was likely nothing they could do about the situation.