Tottenham Hotspur interim head coach Ryan Mason has condemned the most recent racism incident involving Heung-min Son.
During Spurs’ Premier League match against Crystal Palace last weekend at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, a supporter allegedly racially abused the South Korean during their side’s 1-0 defeat.
The alleged incident occurred in the 89th minute of Spurs’ 1-0 victory when Son was replaced by substitute Arnaut Danjuma but had to walk around the perimeter of the pitch and past the area of the stadium in which the Palace supporters were seated.
Tottenham and Crystal Palace both issued statements in the wake of the incident condemning the behavior with Palace promising to ban the supporter once identified.
It is not the first time in which Son has received such treatment from away supporters, he racially abused during a match between Chelsea and Tottenham at Stamford Bridge in August.
Chelsea banned a season-ticket holder indefinitely after footage emerged on social media of a fan in the home end making a racist gesture towards the Spurs star.
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Mason told Football.London: He’s a fantastic human being and I love him as a person. Ultimately it’s sad to see, not what we ever want to see.
“We stand by Sonny and all the players inside the stadium. They’re giving their lives to entertain us. If there’s anyone stepping out of line they need to be punished.”
The incident saw Kick It Out‘s Head of Player Engagement Troy Townsend to call for a rethink on how players should leave the pitch.
He said in a statement: “Kick It Out are appalled to hear that Heung-Min Son was subject to alleged racist abuse during yesterday’s Premier League fixture between Tottenham Hotspur and Crystal Palace.
“This is not the first time that he has been forced to endure such abhorrent discrimination. It is vital that player welfare is always the priority, and we urge football’s stakeholders to examine whether their policy of making players leave the pitch at the nearest point can in certain circumstances risk exposing players to discriminatory abuse, particularly during moments of high tension in the game.
“Furthermore, we commend the clubs and the Metropolitan Police for their swift response to this incident and echo Crystal Palace’s stance that any perpetrators must receive a club ban for their actions.
“Kick It Out are here to support all victims of discriminatory abuse and we would encourage anybody who sadly experiences or witnesses abuse of any kind in the game to report it to us.”
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