ABUSE IS GETTING WORSE, SAYS DIER

TOTTENHAM defender Eric Dier revealed yesterday that abuse at English football grounds has got so bad that some of his family no longer attend matches. Dier jumped into the crowd at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in 2020 to confront a fan who was abusing his brother. But the 28-year-old believes behaviour towards players has grown even worse. ‘I had some family and friends at the Chelsea away game with Tottenham recently and they had problems,’ said Dier. ‘It is a huge, huge problem. It was verbal, not physical, but bad stuff. ‘Some of my family would never go to an away game nowadays because of it. I feel too uncomfortable for them to go. My mum has not been to an away game. She would love to, but I would be worried about it. And that’s crazy, isn’t it?’ Dier (below) received a £40,000 fine and a four-match ban for the incident in 2020, after Spurs had lost to Norwich in the FA Cup. Speaking yesterday as he joined up with the England squad for the first time in two years, Dier added: ‘I don’t regret it at all and I’d do it again. For my family, my team-mates… I consider myself extremely loyal.’ Meanwhile, England new boy Ivan Toney has hit back at Arsenal’s players after they mocked him on social media. Toney infamously tweeted: ‘Nice kickabout with the boys’ after Brentford’s opening day win over the Gunners last season. Alexandre Lacazette got his own back last season by mimicking Toney’s tweet after Arsenal beat Brentford 2-1 in the return fixture. And Gabriel Magalhaes also got in on the act just hours after the Gunners’ 3-0 victory over Brentford on Sunday by posting his own identical tweet. Speaking yesterday, Toney said: ‘I think once was funny, the second time a bit cringey, but I bit my tongue. ‘I wanted to reply, I wanted to nibble, but fair play to them, they played very well.’ On his England call-up, Toney added: ‘I always had the mindset that one day I’ll be a Premier League player and now I’m a Premier League player and an England international. From a young age, I believed in myself, I believed in my ability.’ Gareth Southgate is ready to hand Jude Bellingham a two-game World Cup audition against Italy and Germany amid fitness concerns over Kalvin Phillips. The England manager believes the Borussia Dortmund midfielder is capable of filling Phillips’ position in the team if required.