Tottenham Hotspur have condemned alleged racist abuse directed towards Son Heung-min during their home win against Crystal Palace.
Posts on social media appear to show a man in the away end making a gesture at the South Korea forward on Saturday.
“Discrimination of any kind is abhorrent and has no place in society, our game and at our club,” said Spurs.
Palace added: “Evidence has been shared with the police, and when he is identified, he will face a club ban.”
The Eagles, who were beaten 1-0 at Spurs in the Premier League, said they were “aware of a video circulating online (as well as reports made directly to us) regarding an individual in the away end at Spurs, appearing to make racist gestures towards Son Heung-min”.
Chelsea banned a fan indefinitely for making a racist gesture towards Son during a match at Stamford Bridge on 14 August 2022.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) also banned the individual from attending football games for three years.
“We are working with Met Police and Crystal Palace to investigate and identify the individual involved,” said Spurs.
“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.”
Troy Townsend, head of development at anti-discrimination body Kick It Out, said the organisation was “appalled” to hear of “such abhorrent discrimination”.
He called on the football authorities to look at “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”.
Tottenham supporters’ group Spurs REACH, which stands for Race, Ethnicity and Cultural Heritage, said: “Why oh, who, oh why, do adults in this day and age think that this is an acceptable way to behave towards another human being?
“We sincerely hope that Crystal Palace Football Club identify and ban this individual for life.”
Spurs also called for social media companies to take action in February after Son was subjected to “utterly reprehensible” racist abuse online during a Premier League win against West Ham.
(BBC Sport)
