Referee halts game after ‘racist taunts’
TOTTENHAM Hotspur was embroiled in a racism row last night after claims fans abused a black rival player.
Antonio Rudiger of Chelsea allegedly suffered sickening taunts and gestures from home fans, triggering a plea for calm over the public address system in the ground.
The German defender, 26, mimicked a racist gesture as he told referee Anthony Taylor of an incident during a fiery derby, footage shows.
The official stopped play and spoke to a colleague and both managers before the stadium announcer said: “Racist behaviour from spectators is interfering with the game.”
Two more announcements followed adding: “Please remember that in football, there is no place for racism.”
It was the first time the measures, drawn up in a bid to combat racial abuse, have been used in a game.
Europe’s governing body has a three-step guide to stamping out abuse.The first two were taken by Taylor who stopped short of ending the match under the three strikes and out rule.
After the final whistle Chelsea skipper Cesar Azpilicueta said: “It is made very clear to us all that if we have heard any racist incident to report it.
“Toni came to me and told me he was listening to racist songs towards him so I reported it to the referee.
“We are very concerned and aware of this behaviour.
Altogether we need to make it stop. I hope everything gets clear and we eradicate it as soon as possible.
“It’s an issue not just in football but in life.”
Rudiger had been in a clash with Spurs’ Son Heung-Min, who was sent off, in the game which Chelsea went on to win 2-0.
BBC pundit and former Spurs players Jermaine Jenas said: “With the technology they have in this stadium I would be shocked if they could not pinpoint the individual.
“That person will be isolated and dealt with accordingly. There’s no place for it but I want more than an announcement. I don’t want them back in the stadium again.The behaviour is what it is sadly – some people are that ignorant.”
Spurs boss Jose Mourinho said: “I saw nothing, I saw the referee follow the protocol, he came to [fourth official] Andre Marriner, he came to me and [Chelsea manager] Frank Lampard and told us what was happening.The protocol was followed. Every club is together on this situation.”
A fortnight ago Manchester City fan Anthony Burke, 41, was held on suspicion of a racially aggravated offence after a video on social media appeared to show a man making monkey gestures. He denies being a racist saying he was “putting my hands in my pants” when he was filmed.
RACISM raised its ugly head again when Antonio Rudiger suffered abuse during Chelsea’s 2-0 victory at 10-man Tottenham. The Blues defender was the victim of monkey chants in the 62nd minute after Son Heung-Min was sent off for kicking him in the chest as the South Korean forward fell under a challenge. Chelsea captain Cesar Azpilicueta alerted referee Anthony Taylor to what was later confirmed as a single incident. However, on three separate occasions a security announcement over the public address system declared that “racist behaviour from spectators is interfering
with the game”. Azpilicueta said: “It’s made very clear to us that if we hear any racist incident to report it.
“Tony told me he was listening to racist songs so I told the referee.
“We are very concerned and aware of this behaviour. Altogether we need to make it stop. It‘s an issue not just in football but in life.”
An object also appeared to be thrown from the same section of the ground at visiting goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga.
Spurs said in a statement: “We are conducting a thorough investigation which will include liaising with Chelsea and their players for observations.
“We take any such allegations extremely seriously and shall take the strongest possible action against any individual found to be behaving in such a way, including stadium bans.” Victory gave Frank Lampard’s fourth-placed Blues a six-point advantage over Jose Mourinho’s Spurs, who are seventh. “To go up against a manager who I respect so much and win, that feels good,” said Lampard. “The reason to get so excited is not because we have accomplished anything, because we haven’t. But for the fans to see what the players can do when they are at it, is a big deal. Now can we be consistent and reproduce that?” Mourinho felt the red card should not have been shown but accepted the best team won. “They were better than us in the first half – it is not difficult for me to admit it,” said the Portuguese. “They played in a (3-4-3) system where they are very comfortable because they played it for two years under Antonio Conte.” Mourinho accused Rudiger of play-acting. “I hope he will recover because he will have broken ribs,” the Spurs boss said sarcastically. “For sure, he’s having scans in the hospital because it was a really violent situation. “In some countries, like mine, we say clever player but in this country, and one of the reasons I fell in love with this country is because we don’t call them clever, we call them other things that I refuse to call. “We were looking for a goal and instead of a goal comes a red card.”