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Wednesday, 25 December 2019 00:44 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Tottenham Hotspurs Manager Jose Mourinho at a media briefing
ESPN: Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho has said football and society need help in the fight against racism after Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger was subjected to abuse at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday.
Rudiger was involved in an incident which saw Spurs forward Son Heung-Min sent off after a VAR review in Chelsea’s 2-0 victory. The Germany international indicated shortly afterwards he had been the victim of a monkey gesture from a section of the home support.
“I don’t know [how we sort out the problem of racism in football],” Mourinho told a news conference. “The only thing I can say is to repeat that I am totally, totally against racism in society and obviously against racism in my football world. I feel very sorry every time something happens and I will always support any decision that the authorities make in relation to that.
“Society needs help. And then football is a micro-society. Do we need help? Yes. But society needs help. We need to eradicate any form of discrimination and this case we are talking about racism. Football and society needs help.
“It is happening before and I feel it is going to happen again in the future, that is the problem. What I see is an evolution in the protocol and that is fine. The players have the freedom to stop, to go to the referee, to go to their managers. This is one step and any decision that can be made by superior authorities I will support. I am anti-racist in all my areas.”
Rudiger has urged Tottenham to find and punish the individuals who directed racist abuse at him during the London derby.
Spurs defender Jan Vertonghen also condemned the racist abuse after the game and called the incident “a disgrace.”
There have been a number of racist incidents in the Premier League this season with Manchester United players Fred and Jesse Lingard subjected to abuse in the derby earlier this month.
Paul Pogba, Tammy Abraham and Marcus Rashford have also been racially abused on social media this season.
Mourinho also said Spurs have appealed Son’s red card and the club are hopeful he can feature in the league game against Brighton on Boxing Day.
