"Chelsea Football Club will not tolerate any form of racism"
Guardian reports that a Chelsea supporter has been arrested for racially abusing Tottenham Hotspur forward Son Heung-min.
During Sunday’s Premier League match between the two London sides, racist chanting was targeted towards the South Korean footballer.
Although Son did not hear the chants, the supporter behind the racist abuse was ejected from the stadium and arrested.
The Metropolitan police are investigating the the racially aggravated public order offence.
A Chelsea spokesman said: “We are aware of an alleged racist incident involving a Chelsea supporter at yesterday’s match. Chelsea Football Club will not tolerate any form of racism, nor is there a place at this club for anyone who is found to have engaged in such behaviour.
“If a season ticket holder or member is involved, we will take the strongest possible action against them including bans. We will also support any potential criminal proceedings by the relevant authorities.”
Additionally during the game, play was paused after Chelsea’s Antonio Rüdiger allegedly heard monkey chants from the crowd aimed towards him.
Referee Anthony Taylor stopped play when Rüdiger reported the chants. A stadium announcement informed the crowd that “racist behaviour from spectators is interfering with the game” – the announcement was repeated on two further occasions.
A spokesman for the Met said: “Police were made aware of alleged racist chanting during the second half of the Tottenham vs Chelsea match on Sunday 22 December. Officers will work with the club in an attempt to identify any people responsible.”
Tottenham added that they are “exhaustively investigating” the allegations made by Rüdiger. The club will impose life bans on anyone found guilty.
“We have engaged lip readers to study the footage and contacted Chelsea for further information from their players,” read a statement.
Spurs manager José Mourinho said that self-policing from supporters is a positive step.
“If I have to say something it is to ask my supporters, the Tottenham supporters, to keep doing exactly the same that they are doing with the team, which is supporting the team in a season that has not been easy at all,” he said.
“To ask them to be exactly the same and obviously to look to the guy to the left and look to the guy to the right, and listen to the guy behind me and listen to the guy in front of me. And if anyone has any little manifestation, to try in there in between them to kill it immediately. That’s the only thing I can ask for.”
Son was also ejected from the game after receiving a red card for a tackle against Rüdiger.
Chelsea ended up beating Tottenham 2-0, with goals scored by Willian including one penalty.