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Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger has called for anyone found to have subjected him to racist abuse to be swiftly punished \u2013 and for the fight against discrimination not to be \u201cforgotten again in a couple of days\u201d.<\/p>\nChelsea defender Antonio Rudiger has called for anyone found to have subjected him to racist abuse to be swiftly punished \u2013 and for the fight against discrimination not to be \u201cforgotten again in a couple of days\u201d.<\/p>\n
Rudiger reported being the subject of monkey chants during the second half of the 2-0 victory at Tottenham, shortly after Son Heung-min had been sent off for kicking out at him.<\/p>\n
There were three stadium announcements saying that \u201cracist behavior among spectators is interfering with the game\u201d.<\/p>\n
The Professional Footballers\u2019 Association has called for a government inquiry into racism within football in the wake of Sunday\u2019s incident.<\/p>\n
German defender Rudiger took to Twitter later in the evening, thanking people for their support, but also calling for decisive action.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is really sad to see racism again at a football match, but I think it\u2019s very important to talk about it in public. If not, it will be forgotten again in a couple of days (as always),\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t want to involve Tottenham as an entire club into this situation as I know that just a couple of idiots were the offenders. I got a lot of supportive messages on social media from Spurs fans as well in the last hours \u2013 thank you a lot for this.<\/p>\n
\u201cI really hope that the offenders will be found and punished soon, and in such a modern football ground like the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with dozens of TV and security cameras, it must be possible to find and subsequently punish them.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf not, then there must have been witnesses in the stadium who saw and heard the incident. It\u2019s just such a shame that racism still exists in 2019. When will this nonsense stop?\u201d<\/p>\n
Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville, speaking as a pundit on Sky Sports, had earlier called on the PFA to do more in the fight against racism.<\/p>\n
Among a series of tweets following the match, the PFA posted: \u201cNow more than ever we must unite and stand strong and together to confront, challenge and eradicate racist abuse in our stadiums and in our country.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe believe that the time has come for all governing bodies to unite collectively to end this abuse.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe PFA calls for a government inquiry into racism and the rise in hate crime within football and immediate and urgent action from an All-Party Group at the Department of Culture, Media and Sport to address this urgent issue.\u201d<\/p>\n
Neville had also reiterated the call for direct action against racism by players walking off the pitch \u2013 and admitted he was \u201cashamed\u201d not to have done so in support of former England team-mate Ashley Cole.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a racism problem in the Premier League in England. And the Premier League have to step up, they hide behind the FA on this issue,\u201d Neville said.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe we have to empower the players to walk off the pitch and stop the entertainment while it is happening. That is the only way I can see it happening.<\/p>\n
\u201cI did not walk off the pitch when Ashley (Cole) was abused 15 years ago, and you might argue that now it\u2019s okay for me to sit here in my ivory tower of a commentary box and suggest that players should walk off the pitch.<\/p>\n
\u201cUltimately I would be ashamed of myself for not doing (it) 15 years ago as I would be absolutely proud of players for doing it now to empower them to think, do something about it and take it into your own hands.\u201d<\/p>\n
He continued: \u201cThe PFA need to act because it\u2019s ultimately their job to protect players in their own country and they should protect players if the football associations don\u2019t do it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Neville played in the England team with Cole \u2013 who, along with Shaun Wright-Phillips, was subjected to racist abuse during a 2004 friendly against Spain in Madrid.<\/p>\n
Cole, also speaking on Sky Sports, feels the current anti-discrimination campaigns do not go far enough.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have a T-shirt in your place (in the dressing room). They are like, \u2018Put that on for the warm-up, then you can take it off\u2019,\u201d the 39-year-old said. \u201cPeople don\u2019t really care.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added: \u201cWhy do they wait until something happens in the game to make the announcements? I don\u2019t think it is enough \u2013 and is it going to stop? It is kind of my fault as well that when I was abused I did not come out, but I just felt I didn\u2019t have enough support.<\/p>\n
\u201cRaheem (Sterling) has changed that, he has the people on his side, whereas I did not feel I had that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tottenham swiftly vowed to investigate the matter and take the strongest possible action against any guilty parties, with Chelsea quick to welcome their London rivals\u2019 stance.<\/p>\n
Anti-discrimination body Kick It Out said in a statement on Sunday evening: \u201cWe are aware of the alleged racist incidents at yesterday’s game between Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe applaud the action of referee Anthony Taylor in following step one of the protocol and the ensuing steps taken by Tottenham Hotspur in repeating the stadium announcements.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have offered our support to both of the clubs and also to Chelsea\u2019s Antonio Rudiger.\u201d<\/p>\n