This archive report was first published on 24 December 2019.
December 22, 2019, saw a London derby between Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea turn ugly, with racism allegations surfacing during the match.
Chelsea's Antonio Rudiger complained to referee Anthony Taylor that he had heard monkey noises from spectators, prompting a stoppage in play.
However, a report by the Guardian newspaper on December 23, 2019, claimed that a Chelsea supporter had been arrested for racially abusing Tottenham's Son Heung-min.
The Metropolitan Police confirmed an arrest had been made, but did not specify if the individual was a Chelsea supporter.
Tottenham Hotspur promised a thorough investigation into the incident, but their initial inquiries failed to find a culprit, despite reviewing images from stadium video cameras and having professional lip-readers study the footage.
Chelsea's Rudiger expressed his disappointment at the ongoing issue of racism in football, tweeting, 'It's just such a shame that racism still exists in 2019.'
England's Professional Footballers Association called for a government inquiry into racism within football, with Sports Minister Nigel Adams stating that the government would wait to see how the game dealt with the issue before deciding on any further action.
