Djed Spence had another amazing outing for Tottenham Hotspur as his team breezed past third-division Doncaster Rovers in the Carabao Cup, securing their entry into the next round where they’ll face Newcastle United.
Spence’s season keeps coming better. The English right-back got his first national duty call-up this season, becoming the first ever Muslim to play for England. The right back’s cheerful personality and good sense of humor have made him a popular figure in North London, with Spurs supporters cherishing his every touch with a cheer.
Observant fans have noticed that Spence often posts the “penitentiary meme” on his Instagram feed. He had posted it on September 14th after a victory over London rivals and neighbours West Ham, putting a slide with Jarrod Bowen as a part of the penitentiary meme deal.
He captioned it as “penitentiary expanded,” and fans loved his humorous take on the meme.
The meme, which has become a common one in football slang, is referred to as being “locked up” by defenders, for eg, the William Saliba Penitentiary had become a running gag last season due to Arsenal’s amazing defensive prowess. It is slowly replacing the famous “pocketed” meme, another very common and popular meme used in internet slang.
Spence locking up defenders is therefore an extension of locking them up in jail or a penitentiary. The penitentiary meme is also used to depict managers, such as the hilarious Arne Slot penitentiary, with managers like Guardiola and Arteta locked up.
After last night’s victory, Spence shared a carousel post on Instagram. The best part, and the most talked-about one, came on the last slide, with Spence posting another victim of the trending “penitentiary” meme, Damola Ajayi. Ajayi, on loan from Tottenham, is currently a winger at Doncaster Rovers. Spence, in his signature tongue-in-cheek style, posted Ajayi being behind bars after keeping the winger quiet all night.
Ajayi, playing against his parent club, was met with stern resistance from Spence on the left flank.
Fan Reactions to the Post
Needless to say, this banter between two young English footballers can result in Ajayi looking forward to getting his revenge when they meet again. While the banter seems healthy between two Spurs players, fans were divided on the post.
Underneath a Twitter thread signifying the post, fans were quick to hop on and give their 2 cents on the joke.
“No one is safe atp (at this point)”
Fans took the joke in a funny way, and supported Spence’s humour.
“Bro is a menace”
One fan put a Neil Warnock meme as a reaction, leaving people in splits.
😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/jiGkuEGOI8
— Bala (@THFCBala) September 24, 2025
Some rival fans, however, were not proud of the context, as Spence’s joke was on a player playing in the third division.
“Flexing against Doncaster <laughing emoji> found his level at least“
Another fan provided insight into the joke, reminding everyone that Ajayi is after all, a Spurs player.
“Is that not Damola Ajayi? Spurs player on loan to Doncaster, who Frank gave permission to play last night. I think they are mates.”
Some fans praised Spence but were wary of the joke turning on him when the time comes.
“Bro got the dawg in him but this could go left soon the moment he gets rinsed by a winger.”
“He needs to stop posting stuff like this. When/if he gets rinsed by a winger the whole of social media is gonna come together and end him.”
A rival user was not exactly happy with the joke, calling it ‘corny’.
“woof. corny corny.“
Another user, aptly named @ChelseaHawkEye, compared him to Marc Cucurella, the Chelsea left-back.
“Bro thinks he’s Cucurella.”
Even on Instagram, people are a bit unhappy with Spence’s banter.
A fan said, “he needs a humbling really quick.”
“Flexing in on a division 3 player is crazy work.”
At the end of the day, it is just harmless banter. People don’t have a problem with the penitentiary meme or Spence’s joke as much as the fact that he did it on a Spurs U21 player who is playing for a third-tier club. At the same time, showcasing some personality is something the game of football requires. Guess you can never make fans happy.
