The progress pride flag, the symbol of the LGBTQ+ community, on display at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium has been relocated for Tuesday’s Champions League tie against Slavia Prague following a request from the visiting club.
The large flag is usually situation in the North East corner of the Spurs ground where visiting supporters are located. The Czech club made the request for its removal to UEFA on the basis of security concerns and this was granted by Spurs on safety grounds. It will instead be displayed in the South West corner of the stadium.
Neither Spurs nor Slavia has explained what the safety issues of displaying the progress flag would be.
Spurs communicated the decision with the club’s LGBTQ+ supporter group, the Proud Lilywhites, who subsequently informed its members, in a statement seen by The Athletic.
The Proud Lilywhites expressed its frustration with the decision, writing: “You don’t get to come to our house and dictate what’s acceptable, let alone kick off about a flag that represents our own community. But here we are.
“We wanted you to hear it directly from us. We wanted to be sure that you know that this is an opposition team request and no reflection of the club’s commitment to the Proud Lilywhites.”
Spurs sources, speaking on the condition of anonymity to protect relationships, indicated the club had made known their desire to keep the flag in its usual place but reluctantly accepted after being made aware of the safety issues.
“The flag has been relocated at the request of the visiting team to UEFA on security grounds,” a Tottenham spokesperson said.
A Slavia Prague spokesperson said: “The flag with Tottenham symbols would have been placed directly in the section reserved for our fans at that moment. For this reason, it was temporarily moved in another place in the stadium and with an agreement with the home club. This is a logical step based on respect for the space reserved for visiting fans, just as Slavia fans outside the visiting section respect the rules of not wearing our club colours or symbols.”
UEFA has been contacted by The Athletic for comment.
Slavia Prague have frequently faced sanctions from UEFA for supporter behaviour during European fixtures. In April 2024 they were fined following crowd violence during their Europa League tie against Milan, and in February were fined and ordered to close sections of their stadium following racist behaviour from fans against Anderlecht in the Europa League.
The Czech Republic does not recognise same sex marriage. A law change bringing in civil unions for same sex couples with the same rights as marriage, without adoption, was brought in in 2025. Civil unions for same sex couples with differing rights to marriage had been legal since 2006.