Rudiger: Racism has won

Antonio Rudiger says he felt like a scapegoat after reporting alleged racist abuse

Antonio Rudiger says “racism has won” after he was booed by a section of Tottenham supporters during Chelsea’s 2-1 victory over their London rivals at the weekend.

The Chelsea defender alleged he had been racially abused during the reverse fixture between the two clubs at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in December, which resulted in the Premier League’s anti-discrimination protocol being used for the first time.

Tottenham and the Metropolitan Police both launched investigations but the matter was not taken any further as no evidence was found to support Rudiger’s claims.

Rudiger feels let down after speaking out about the alleged discriminatory abuse he suffered and says society is losing the fight against racism.

“Racism has won,” he told Sky in Germany. “The offenders can always come back to the stadium, which shows that these people have won.

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Romelu Lukaku said last month that he believes footballers need to take matters into their own hands in a bid to help tackle racism, after a swathe of incidents this season

Romelu Lukaku said last month that he believes footballers need to take matters into their own hands in a bid to help tackle racism, after a swathe of incidents this season

“It doesn’t have to be me, it can be anyone else. They never get punished and in the end, I am the scapegoat.

“I won’t give up, I’ll never stop raising my voice. I’ll always raise my voice, but in relation to this, I am alone.

“It’s a disaster. I became a father last Thursday and you start thinking society hasn’t come far enough in fighting racism so my kids will probably suffer as well.

“If nothing changes, if young kids don’t get good education and parenting, we will lose. We have to be this honest.”

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