Chelsea: Antonio Rudiger says 'racism won' after no evidence found to support abuse claim

Chelsea's Antonio Rudiger said he had heard monkey noises from the crowd at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger has said "racism won" after no evidence was found to support his claim of abuse from fans at Tottenham on 22 December.

Play was stopped during the Blues' 2-0 win after Germany centre-back Rudiger, 26, said he heard monkey noises.

On 6 January, Spurs said they and police had "exhausted" all lines of enquiry but could not "corroborate or contradict" the allegation.

Rudiger said: "They never get punished. In the end, I'm the scapegoat."

In a statement released on Monday, after Rudiger's latest comments, Tottenham said: "The club should like to reiterate that we fully support the action that Rudiger took in this situation, and we would encourage any player to do the same if they too are faced with this scenario in the future."

Spurs said they "remain open" to revisiting the investigation should any "any new information come to light".

Speaking to Sky Sports Germany after Chelsea's 2-1 victory over Tottenham in the Premier League on Saturday, Rudiger added: "I won't give up.

"I'll always raise my voice - but in relation to this, I'm alone.

"Racism has won. The offenders can always come back to the stadium, which shows these people have won. 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 kids don't get good education and parenting, we'll lose."

In statements issued in January, Spurs said they "fully supported" Rudiger with the action he took, and Chelsea also backed their player "totally and unequivocally".

The Stamford Bridge side added: "As Tottenham's statement makes clear, a lack of evidence does not mean an incident did not take place.

"It is vitally important we continue to encourage all players, whatever shirt they wear, to report racist abuse without fear of doubt or reprisal."

Six arrests were made following December's match as part of the Metropolitan Police operation at the fixture, but none were linked to the incident involving Rudiger.

Spurs said they were able to "track every fan" using cameras at their new 62,062-capacity Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and that any supporter found guilty of racism would "receive a lifetime ban".

The club said they had worked with professional lip-readers, and that all reports had also been reviewed by police.

"We are fiercely proud of our anti-racism work and our zero tolerance of any form of discrimination," added the Tottenham statement.