Antonio Rudiger Speaks Out After Spurs Fan Racism Investigation Closes

Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger says he won't keep quiet after the closure of the investigation into Rudiger's allegation that he was racially abused by a Tottenham Hotspur fan.

Per Goal's Stephen Darwin, both Spurs and the Metropolitan Police looked into the matter after Blues captain Cesar Azpilicueta notified the referee of the allegation during a match on December 22.

The investigation found no evidence of the alleged abuse, which Rudiger told Der Spiegel (h/t Darwin) made him feel like an animal:

"I ask myself: 'How is it possible that nobody of the 60,000 people in this stadium realised anything about it?' So, I stand there [accused] as a liar. I have the feeling that I'm expected to shut my mouth. But I have a message: I won't do that.

"I felt as if I wasn't a human being, but an animal. A monkey. I think if you haven't lived such situations you can't imagine how I felt. Against Tottenham I felt incredibly lonely."

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Spurs emphasised their support for the 27-year-old in their statement announcing the results of the investigation, and captain Harry Kane apologised to Rudiger after the match: "I said [to Kane]: 'It's absolutely not your fault, you don't have to apologise.' But he wanted to do it as a sign that his club doesn't think like that. That was good for me [to hear]."

The Blues beat Spurs 2-0 in the December 22 meeting, with Willian bagging two goals:

Per Matt Barlow of the Daily Mail, Rudiger complained of more abuse after the rematch at Stamford Bridge in February. He also said "racism won" after the investigation was closed.

Incidents of racist abuse across Europe have dominated football headlines this season. In February, Porto's Moussa Marega walked off the pitch during a match with former club Vitoria de Guimaraes after fans threw seats at him while he celebrated by pointing at the colour of his arm.

Other examples include Shakhtar's Taison against Dynamo Kyiv, Brescia's Mario Balotelli against Verona and Inter Milan's Romelu Lukaku against Cagliari.