Chelsea manager Frank Lampard has criticised Tottenham Hotspur boss Jose Mourinho's comments about Blues defender Antonio Rudiger, claiming that he is 'disappointed' by his accusations.
Spurs forward Son Heung-min was seen kicking his feet up into Rudiger's ribs while on the ground during Chelsea's 2-0 win over their London rivals on Sunday.
Following a VAR review, the South Korean was shown a red card for violent conduct, leaving the north London side to play with ten men for the final 28 minutes of the clash.
After the game, Tottenham boss Mourinho sarcastically offered his support to the defender, claiming: "I hope Rudiger will recover from broken ribs because he will have broken ribs for sure. Rudiger is for sure is having scans in the hospital on broken ribs because it was a really violent situation.
“In some countries, like mine, for example with our culture we used to say 'clever player' but in this country, and one of the reasons I fell in love with this country in 2004, is because we don't call them clever, we call them other things that I refuse to call."
The Portuguese further added on Monday that the problem was actually Rudiger's reaction to Son's challenge, rather than the 27-year-old's reaction. He said, as quoted by the Daily Mail: "The focus should be on Antonio Rudiger and not on Son. In the Premier League I love there is no space also for what Rudiger did. Stand up and play, man.
"Come on, do you think Rudiger plays the next game? Or do you think he's injured? I think he plays. And we speak about Son and don't speak about him [Rudiger]."
However, Chelsea boss Lampard has now criticised Mourinho for his comments, saying in his latest press conference: "With Toni, in this incident when he's having to post after the game about something we know is a huge deal [racism], I think to question his integrity in that time is disappointing for sure," Lampard claimed, as quoted by BBC Sport.
"Pretty universally, certainly what I heard in the commentary and the post-match reflection was that the Son incident was a red card.
"It wasn't brutal but it was instinctive that warrants a red card in the modern day. It was pretty clear that was the case. I wouldn't question Toni's integrity on that."
Rudiger informed club captain Cesar Azpilicueta that he had seen or heard racial abuse coming from the home support during the Blues' comfortable 2-0 win. The first step of UEFA's three stage protocol, aimed at tackling discrimination, was then introduced, with a stadium announcement informing supporters that racist behaviour will not be tolerated.
Subsequently, the British government have said that they are prepared to take 'further steps' in the fight against racism, while Tottenham have confirmed that they will hand a lifetime ban to any supporter found guilty of racial abuse.
While Spurs' findings are inconclusive at this moment in time, a Chelsea fan has been arrested on suspicion of abusing Son during the clash.
Source :
90min
