Rudiger warns 'racism has won' and says Hanau shooting horror is 'the end product'

Antonio Rudiger complained of racist abuse during December's match at Tottenham and the German fears fans will continue to avoid justice.

Published : Feb 23, 2020 22:34 IST

Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger reported he was racially abused in the December 22 trip to Tottenham.
Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger reported he was racially abused in the December 22 trip to Tottenham.
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Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger reported he was racially abused in the December 22 trip to Tottenham.

Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger claims "racism has won" after he was booed by Tottenham supporters during Saturday's Premier League match at Stamford Bridge.

Rudiger reported he was racially abused in the December 22 trip to Tottenham, but an investigation conducted by Spurs proved "inconclusive" and police could find no evidence to support the complaint.

The German was appalled to also be targeted by a number of visiting fans in the second league meeting between the teams in 2019-20.

Rudiger said the failure of authorities to find a culprit for his previous allegation meant he had become cast to some as a "bogeyman" figure.

The 26-year-old told German broadcaster Sky Sport after Saturday's match: "Racism has won. They want to make us believe, 'You have no voice'. That's how I see it. Then also thanks to the media, who naturally pushed it that way, nobody was found and such things, the case is closed.

"And that's why you get booed in the end because you raise your voice. So I say: racism has won."

The defender was disheartened that nobody was held culpable for the abuse he heard in the December match at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

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"This shows that these people win wherever. They can go back to the stadium," Rudiger said.

"It doesn't have to be me, it can be someone else. They will not be punished and at the end of the day I am the bogeyman."

Rudiger vowed he would not be silenced and pledged to continue making his voice heard on matters of discrimination, linking his concerns to the experience of becoming a father last Thursday.

"It is a catastrophe. One day my child will highly probably suffer because of the way we are today," Rudiger said.

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Rudiger was asked about the shisha bar shooting deaths in Hanau which occurred on Wednesday, with a number of the victims reported to be of Turkish and Kurdish descent and the attack being treated as far-right terrorism.

He related that to incidents of racism in German football which have seen Hertha Berlin's Jordan Torunarigha and Wurzburg's Leroy Kwadwo targeted for abuse.

Speaking of Hanau, Rudiger said: "For me, this is the end product. First Torunarigha, then Kwadwo and then there are dead people."

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