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Investigation into Rudiger racism closed after 'finding no evidence'

The Metropolitan Police have closed their investigation into alleged racist abuse against Chelsea...



Investigation into Rudiger rac...
Soccer

Investigation into Rudiger racism closed after 'finding no evidence'

The Metropolitan Police have closed their investigation into alleged racist abuse against Chelsea's Antonio Rudiger after apparently finding no evidence.

The defender reported hearing monkey chants during their Premier League game against Tottenham at the new White Hart Lane on the 22nd of December.

In a statement released by Tottenham on Monday afternoon, they said they and the Metropolitan Police "have now exhausted all avenues of investigation."

The referee on the day Anthony Taylor stopped play after being alerted to the alleged abuse.

An announcement on the public address system then informed the crowd on three occasions that “racist behaviour from spectators is interfering with the game” in line with Premier League protocols.

The incident was widely reported upon and condemned at the time but no footage of it circulated.

Spurs had vowed to take the “strongest possible action” against any individual found to have carried out any abuse.

Monday's statement from the north London club went on to say: "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.

"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.

"We are fiercely proud of our anti-racism work and our zero tolerance of any form of discrimination. This is one reason why we have attributed so much time and resources to investigating this matter. Had we identified anyone guilty of this we were intent on issuing them with a lifetime ban from our stadium as they would have no place among our proud, diverse fan base.

"If any new information comes to light, this will be fully investigated."

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Antonio Rudiger Racism Tottenham Hotspur