The Belgian international was playing in the Champions League for Spurs away at RB Leipzig last Tuesday. Whilst he was away in Germany, four armed men forced his way into the house with his wife and children inside. The men, wearing balaclavas, held the family at knifepoint while they burgled the house, and stole a number of items.
Fortunately, nobody was injured, but the suspects escaped before the police arrived. No arrests have been made yet, and investigations are continuing.
This is just the latest in a series of attacks targeting Premier League footballers in the past year. In December, the hoe of Crystal Palace defender Mamado Sakho was broken into, and more than 500,000 was taken in valuables in the raid. Neither Sakho nor his wife was in the house at the time, and the crime remains unsolved to this day.
Meanwhile, in Hampstead, North London last July, Arsenal midfielder Mesut Ozil and his team mate Sead Kolasinac were attacked in an attempted car-jacking in the middle of the day by two men attempting to steal their watches. Kolasinac bravely fought them off, and he and Ozil who was with his terrified wife escaped in their car, pursued by the two men on a moped. The players eventually took refuge in a Turkish restaurant.
The two men were later detained by security staff when they attempted to gain access to Ozilss home. They were arrested, charged by the police, and eventually given lengthy prison sentences.
The Vertonghen case is not the first time either that footballers have been targeted whilst playing for their clubs in the Champions League. Exactly the same thing happened to Sadio Man last February. He was playing for Liverpool against Bayern Munich when burglars broke into his house. On that occasion watches, mobile phones and car keys were amongst the items stolen.
Perhaps if there is one small upside to the coronavirus, the absence of football matches for a while will mean that there is less incentive for burglars to target homes, knowing that they are likely to be occupied.