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| Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger was involved in an incident in which Tottenham’s Son Heung-min was red-carded in the 62nd minute and indicated shortly afterwards he had been the victim of a monkey gesture from the home section |
The Professional Footballersโ Association called for a government inquiry into racism in English football on Sunday after Chelseaโs 2-0 Premier League win over Tottenham Hotspur was overshadowed by allegations of abuse hurled at Antonio Rudiger.
Chelseaโs German defender was involved in an incident that saw Tottenhamโs Son Heung-min red-carded just past the hour mark and shortly afterwards indicated that he had been the victim of a monkey gesture from the home section.
Several announcements were made over Tottenhamโs public address system saying โracist behaviour from spectators is interfering with the gameโ while referee Anthony Taylor stopped the game to talk to the players.
โWe are disgusted and dismayed that once again, a Premier League fixture has been tainted by abuse from the stands towards players,โ the PFA said in a statement.
โIt has become clear that football players are on the receiving end of the blatant racism that is currently rife in the UK, but they are not alone.
โThe PFA calls for a government inquiry into racism within football and encourage the establishment of an All-Party Group at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.โ
Tottenham have also vowed to take the โstrongest possible actionโ if any fan is identified as having made racist gestures.
The club said the correct protocol had been adopted for the one reported incident. UEFAโs three-step protocol states that a game can be abandoned if fans have been warned twice before.
โMy understanding is that there was a racist comment or gesture. I know Antonio reported it to (captain) Cesar (Azpilicueta) out on the pitch,โ Chelsea manager Frank Lampard said.
โThey are now talking to the officials and going through the right procedure. No matter what stadium it is in, we do not want that in the game.โ
Tottenham issued a statement saying they would be conducting a โthorough investigationโ and would liaise with Chelsea.
โAny form of racism is completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated in our stadium,โ Tottenham said in a statement.
REUTERS
