Castelo-Branco, who works as an English football correspondent for the broadcaster, appeared in footage shared on his personal social media accounts joining Arsenal supporters in anti-Tottenham chanting in São Paulo.
The video was also published on an account belonging to an ESPN podcast, prompting the club to take the matter to the Premier League. Tottenham have asked for Castelo-Branco to be excluded from covering their matches, attending press conferences and conducting interviews with players and coaching staff.
The complaint is directed at the individual journalist rather than ESPN Brasil itself. The broadcaster holds Premier League rights in the Caribbean and South America, and Tottenham’s request would not affect its wider coverage or prevent other ESPN reporters from working at the club.
Castelo-Branco has apologised for his involvement in the video, which has since been removed from both social media accounts. Speaking to The Times, he acknowledged that his actions were inappropriate given his professional responsibilities.
“I wanted to apologise to the club for the video I recorded with Arsenal fans in Brazil singing a derogatory chant about Tottenham Hotspur,” he said. “Given my role as a correspondent in the UK, I feel I made a mistake.
“The video was posted on the podcast Instagram page and reproduced on my personal page. I understand it can be offensive to Spurs and Spurs fans and I should have thought more about singing that and the reach it could have.
“ESPN was notified by the Premier League about Tottenham seeing and disliking the post, and we agreed to delete it. Hopefully we can move on, and I will rethink and be more careful with the boundaries of having that persona on the podcast.”
The journalist’s apology has not removed the issue for Tottenham, who believe his participation in the chants creates a conflict with his role covering the club. Their request would mean he could no longer report from the stadium or seek access to the manager and players for interviews.
The Premier League is now involved in discussions with the club and broadcaster over the complaint. Castelo-Branco has reportedly taken part in a meeting with the relevant parties and sent an apology to Tottenham.
The case raises a distinction between a reporter’s personal football allegiance and the professional responsibilities that come with covering clubs. Tottenham have not sought to restrict ESPN’s access as a broadcaster, but want the league to prevent this particular correspondent from reporting on them.