Police Find No Evidence of Racial Abuse of Antonio Rudiger by Tottenham Fans

The Metropolitan Police have informed Tottenham Hotspur they were unable to find evidence to support Antonio Rudiger's allegation of racial abuse.   

Chelsea centre-back Rudiger said members of the home support racially abused him when the Blues beat Spurs 2-0 in north London in December.

Spurs released a statement on Monday saying their joint investigation with police found "no evidence to corroborate or contradict the allegation," per the club's official website:

"The Club and the Metropolitan Police have now exhausted all avenues of investigation following the reported incident at our home fixture against Chelsea on 22 December.

"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."

Spurs also said they "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 club also declared a lifetime ban would have been handed down had the investigation found a guilty party.

Chelsea also issued a statement, via Simon Stone of BBC Sport:

Rudiger was involved in a spat with Heung-Min Son that led to the Tottenham striker being shown a red card.

Referee Anthony Taylor was informed about abuse by Rudiger in the aftermath of the incident. Chelsea skipper Cesar Azpilicueta also spoke with Taylor after an object appeared to be thrown toward goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga.

Three different calls were made over the public address at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium calling for an end to suspected abusive chanting. At the time there was confusion over whether the match should have been abandoned in the wake of the second announcement, in accordance with UEFA protocol.

A day after the game, Spurs released a statement calling initial findings into the allegations "inconclusive." Spurs also outlined the review of CCTV footage and consultation with lip readers as the steps the club had taken to investigate.

The Metropolitan Police made an arrest after a Chelsea supporter was alleged to have committed a racially aggravated public order offence against Son, per Sky Sports.

The outcome of Spurs' inquiries aside, Barney Ronay of The Guardian has underlined the importance of treating every complaint seriously and with sensitivity:

Ronay's thoughts were echoed by author Ewan MacKenna:

Tottenham said they intend to look into any new details about the incident, should they arise.