LONDON. — The Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) called for a government inquiry into racism in football after Chelsea’s 2-0 English Premier League win at Tottenham on Sunday was marred by alleged racist comments from the crowd, the latest in a string of recent incidents.

Chelsea manager Frank Lampard said the problem needed “to be dealt with strongly” and Tottenham promised “a thorough investigation” after referee Anthony Taylor halted play during the second half when Antonio Rudiger complained of hearing monkey noises from spectators.

Moments earlier the Chelsea defender had been involved in a second-half clash with Son Heung-min that saw the South Korean sent off.

Shortly after the stoppage, an announcement made over the public address system warned that “racist behaviour among spectators is interfering with the game” and Taylor spoke to both managers, Lampard and Jose Mourinho.
Two further public address announcements followed after play was resumed.

“It’s just such a shame that racism still exists in 2019. When will this nonsense stop?” Rudiger tweeted.

“I really hope that the offenders will be found and punished soon, and in such a modern football ground like the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with dozens of TV and security cameras, it must be possible to find and subsequently punish them.

“If not, then there must have been witnesses in the stadium who saw and heard the incident.”

The PFA said in a statement late on Sunday: “We are disgusted and dismayed that once again, a Premier League fixture has been tainted by abuse from the stands towards players.AFP