Tottenham Hotspur confirmed that a joint investigation by the police and the club found no evidence of the alleged racial abuse directed at Antonio Rudiger during the Premier League match between Spurs and Chelsea on December 22.
The Blues midfielder had complained that he was subjected to monkey chants during the game, won 2-1 by Chelsea at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The incident had led the officials to temporarily halt the match and a message was put up on the big screen that “racist behaviour among spectators is interfering with the game”.
Tottenham had reacted accordingly and launched a full-scale investigation with the help of local police. But with two weeks gone by, no evidence has been found to authenticate the claim made by Rudiger.
“We carried out extensive reviews of CCTV images and footage, working with professional lip readers. All materials and reports have now also been reviewed by the police who have carried out their own investigation,” Tottenham wrote in a statement on their official website.
“The police have notified us today that, having reviewed and investigated, they have closed the crime report as they can find no evidence to support the allegation of racial abuse.
“We fully support Antonio Rudiger with the action that he took – however there is no evidence to corroborate or contradict the allegation and as such neither ourselves nor the police are in a position to take any further action,” the statement read.
Also, a Chelsea fan was reportedly arrested during the match for racially abusing Spurs striker Son Heung-min. It was the only arrest made by the police related to the racism cases of the December 22 match.
While the abuse reported by Rudiger came during the second half and was apparent and witnessed by many, there was no immediate reaction during Son’s case and it was not found when racism towards him happened.