Antonio Rudiger has stated that racism is starting to ebb away at his positivity after the Chelsea star was felt to feel like a ‘liar’.
At the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in December, Rudiger alleged he heard racist chants towards him during Chelsea’s 2-0 win over Spurs.
Play was stopped during the match after Rudiger told referee Anthony Taylor that he had heard monkey noises aimed at his direction from Tottenham supporters.
Tottenham and the Metropolitan Police investigated the incident, but stated ‘there is no evidence to corroborate or contradict the allegation.’
Chelsea and Spurs threw their support behind the player, however no arrests were made.
In an interview in the following weeks, Rudiger stated that ‘racism won’ after the incident.
And the 27-year-old has expressed his dismay that incidents have continued to occur, with Wilfried Zaha having been the latest to receive racial abuse online.
“I am a positive guy,” Rudiger said. “I always try to look at the positive. But on this specific thing, racism, I am sorry but I cannot be any more positive.
“It is not only about me. It is about players and other people. I want people to live free. Accept that some people are black, other ones are white, or yellow or even if they are green, it does not matter.
“I really feel sorry for those people. It seems like an education issue.
“At the end of the day no-one got charged. It looked like I was a liar. But at the end of the day life moves on, we move on. That is not something that will change my mind of being positive.”
One of the ways football has sought to fight racism is by supporting the Black Lives Matter movement.
Since the restart of the Premier League after the COVID-19 pandemic, players have worn the BLM logo on their shirts.
The players and staff of the clubs, plus officials, have also all united in taking a knee before every match.
Rudiger has thanked those who have continued to support the movement, but also believes that racism may never end.
“To the authorities who came with the idea to take a knee and put Black Lives Matter on the jerseys and everything, I have to say thanks very much for your support,” Rudiger added.
“In that case I see positives, because I really hope that people care and you can see people care. This is an ongoing story.
“I believe it will never have an end. But if you see that authorities are taking actions and doing something, it makes you happy.”
