Tottenham have called for “social media companies and authorities to take action” after Heung-Min Son was targeted with racist abuse on Sunday evening.
The winger, 30, came off the bench to score Spurs’ second goal in their 2-0 Premier League victory over West Ham. Son received online racist abuse described as “utterly reprehensible” during the match, prompting the club to release a statement later on Sunday.
“We have been made aware of the utterly reprehensible online racist abuse directed at Heung-Min Son during today’s match, which has been reported by the Club,” Tottenham wrote in a statement released on Twitter. “We stand with Sonny and once again call on the social media companies and authorities to take action.”
Son had to settle for a spot on the bench for the visit of West Ham and assistant boss Cristian Stellini – who is managing the team as Antonio Conte recovers from gallbladder surgery – explained this was to fend off fatigue. “Me, Antonio and Ryan Mason made this decision because we have a big squad,” Stellini said of benching Son before kick-off.
“Today, we want to use energy. We played Sonny for many games. Maybe this game could be time also to have Sonny during the match. The reason we have a big squad is because of this. We hope, every time a player comes in from the bench, they can change the game.”
Stellini’s hope that Son would come into the match and make an impact was on the mark, as South Korea doubled the lead Emerson Royal earned the hosts over their London rivals. After the match, the Italian hailed the former Bayer Leverkusen star for his “perfect” response to being benched.
“We know that Sonny’s response would be perfect because Sonny is a perfect guy,” Stellini said. “But after the World Cup, sometimes it happens that the players are not fit 100 per cent. At that moment you have to make a decision and it is difficult with a player like Sonny to drop them, but you have to do it because we have a lot of matches.
“The risk is you lose a player for a long time and we don’t want to do it. We want to use Sonny in the right way. Now, we have Richarlison back 100 percent fit and we pick the team to play this type of game. The plan was clear. We had to fight in the first half and when they stretch the team and we have more space, we can use players like Sonny and players to attack the space.” (Mirror)