Premier League clubs Crystal Palace and Tottenham Hotspur have launched an investigation with the Metropolitan Police around an allegation of racial abuse towards Spurs star Son Heung-min in their recent fixture. Several videos have surfaced on the internet where Palace fans are seen targeting the South Korean winger with racist gestures as walking at the touchline at the away end of the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London in the 89th minute.
Tottenham registered a 1-0 win on the back of a stunning goal by Harry Kane in the 45th minute. But Son had an average performance with an xG of 0.34 and xA of 0.02 as he failed to create a single chance in the 89 minutes he played. With this victory, the Spurs hold on to the seventh place on the table.
Regarding the racism charge, Crystal Palace released a statement stating that the evidence regarding the incident has been shared with the police and once the individual is identified, he will receive a ban from the club.
The statement said, “We are aware of a video circulating online (as well as reports made directly to us) regarding an individual in the away end at Spurs yesterday, appearing to make racist gestures towards Heung-Min Son. Evidence has been shared with the police, and when he is identified, he will face a club ban. We will not tolerate such behaviour in our club.”
Similarly, Tottenham Hotspur also put forth a statement stating that the club will ensure the individual found guilty will get the strongest possible punishment. The statement said, “We are aware of an allegation of racial abuse towards Heung-Min Son during yesterday’s match. Discrimination of any kind is abhorrent and has no place in society, our game and at our Club. We are working with Met Police and Crystal Palace to investigate and identify the individual involved.
We will do everything in our powers to ensure that if found guilty, the individual will receive the strongest possible action - as was the case earlier this season when Son suffered similar racial abuse at Chelsea.”