Yves Bissouma has been suspended by Tottenham for their first Premier League match of the season due to a video he shared of himself inhaling laughing gas.
The 27-year-old uploaded a video of himself on social media on Saturday which showed him inhaling from a balloon.
Bissouma had earlier that day played 45 minutes for Spurs in their final pre-season match against Bayern Munich.
The Mali international later apologised but Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou has confirmed he will not be involved on Monday night against Leicester City.
‘He won’t be available on Monday,’ Postecoglou said. ‘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.’
Every time a situation like this arises I always try to look at it in a couple of different ways,’ the Tottenham boss continued.
‘One, there is a person involved and in this case it is Biss and he has made a really poor decision. You want to understand that and help him through that as a club to make sure he doesn’t make those sort of decisions in the future.
‘Within that context there are still sanctions involved which involve education and giving him a clear understanding of why he did what he did. We always want to give people the opportunity to learn from their mistakes.
‘The second part, he is also a footballer and he has responsibilities to the club, responsibilities to his teammates, responsibilities to our supporters and everyone associated with the club and he’s failed in those duties so there have to be sanctions.’
Recreational use of nitrous oxide, also known as NOS or laughing gas, was made a criminal offence in the UK last year and listed as a Class C drug.
‘I want to apologise for these videos,’ Bissouma said. ‘This was a severe lack of judgement.
‘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.’