STOP THIS NOW
Cesar: Time to unite and boot out racists after Rudiger abuse
CHELSEA skipper Cesar Azpilicueta has urged football to unite and stop racism after he reported shameful abuse of Antonio Rudiger yesterday.
The clash with Tottenham was stopped by referee Anthony Taylor after the Blues defender had been targeted.
And a stadium announcement – repeated three times – said: “Racism from spectators is interfering with the game.” This latest blight on football follows England stopping their Euro 2020 qualifier in Bulgaria due to sustained racist abuse.
An FA Cup tie between Haringey Borough and Yeovil was also abandoned because of racism while Manchester United star Fred was targeted in his side’s recent derby win.
Rudiger was abused after the incident that led to Spurs star Son Heungmin being sent off.
And Azpilicueta said: “It is made very clear to us that if we heard any racist incident we should report it. Toni 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.”
Tottenham, who stressed only one incident had been reported, said in a statement: “Any form of racism is completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated. We shall take the strongest possible action against any individual found to be behaving in such a way, including stadium bans.”
Chelsea gaffer Frank Lampard played down a suggestion his players could have walked off, saying the facts needed to be established first. But he said: “No matter what stadium it is in, we do not want that in the game.”
Opposite number Jose
Mourinho, disappointed and saddened at the racism incident, went on to accuse Rudiger of play-acting over Son’s sending off.
“I hope Rudiger will recover from broken ribs because he will have broken ribs for sure,” he said sarcastically.
The Special One was hoping to savour a victory against his old club and move level on points with Chelsea in the race for a Champions League slot.
But Lampard, the man who was the heartbeat of his title-winning Blues side, outwitted Mourinho.
Willian fired Chelsea into an early lead when he lasered a 20-yard strike into the bottom corner.
The Brazilian then slotted home the second from the spot after an aberration from Spurs keeper Paulo Gazzaniga.
Instead of catching the ball as he came to meet Marcos Alonso, the keeper tried a karate kick and missed the ball completely to take out the full-back.
Any hope of a Spurs revival disappeared when a grounded Son pushed his studs up into Rudiger’s stomach, sparking the abuse that shamed football once again.
Toni told me he was listening to racist songs SKIPPER CESAR AZPILICUETA