A small fan in a white shirt sits on a stool from behind outside a stadium turnstile, dwarfed by a giant card-shaped slab.

Match ReportThe High Road Herald

Supporter Begins Own Three-Match Suspension Outside Stadium After Reading What Games Bentancur Will Miss

Desmond Parry · Chief Football Correspondent12 October · Reading time: one pint

Football.london reports that Rodrigo Bentancur must serve a three-match Premier League ban after his red card for violent conduct against Manchester United, which essentially sidelines him until November.

A Tottenham man has begun serving a three-match suspension outside the stadium, in sympathy with Rodrigo Bentancur and without having been asked to.

The Herald understands he arrived at 7am on Monday, shortly after reading that the midfielder would miss three Premier League games following his dismissal for violent conduct at Old Trafford on Saturday night.

He has set up a folding stool at the main gate. A flask, a tin of shortbread and a printed list of the fixtures he will not be attending are within reach.

If he's out, I'm out. That's how it works. It's a team.

Passers-by were informed that the ban runs, in his words, essentially until November, and that he has cleared his diary accordingly. He has not told his employer, who believes he is at a dental appointment of unusual length.

Our correspondent noted that the three games are all away or in the league, and that the Carabao Cup tie with Crystal Palace is not covered by the suspension. The man said he had taken a view on this and would be staying outside for that one too, on the grounds that it would be "disrespectful" not to.

A steward confirmed the man is not in breach of any rule, there being none for this situation. He has been offered a cup of tea, and has accepted, after a brief discussion about whether that counts as a mitigating factor.

At press time he was appealing his own ban.

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A small fan climbs a steep hill away from a stadium, holding up an oversized altimeter, while a faceless player in white jogs alongside.

TransfersThe High Road Herald

Supporter Walks Uphill From Stadium With Altimeter After Dragusin Agent Seeks Higher Level Than Tottenham

Barry Napier · Transfer Correspondent11 October · Reading time: one pint

Radu Dragusin's agent told Sport, as relayed by Sport Witness, that he wants the Fiorentina defender at a club at a higher level than Tottenham, and the supporter's phone has since reported a reading he describes as low.

A season ticket holder was seen walking uphill away from the stadium on Monday morning, holding a phone aloft, after reading that Radu Dragusin's agent wants his client at a club at a higher level than Tottenham.

The agent made the remark to Sport, as relayed by Sport Witness, in an interview about the defender, who joined Fiorentina on loan with a £21.4m obligation. The agent also said he does not expect Dragusin to leave Fiorentina for at least two years.

The supporter has not read that part. The Herald understands he stopped at the headline and has taken it in its most literal sense.

It says higher. I've downloaded an app. The forecourt is basically at the bottom.

He took a reading at the main gate, another at the turnstiles and a third beside the bins, and wrote all three on the back of a ticket wallet. He then set off north-west, in the general direction of what he called the hills, stopping at each lamp post to check.

Passers-by who suggested that Tottenham is a place and not a level were told that this was exactly what people say. One woman offered him a bus timetable. He accepted it and used it to shade the screen.

He expects to locate a higher level than Tottenham by early afternoon and has packed a flask, a banana and a second phone charger. The reading at the top was not available at time of going to press.

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