Tottenham vow to take 'strongest action' over racial abuse

Tottenham Hotspur have vowed to take the "strongest possible action" after their 0-2 defeat against Chelsea was overshadowed by the game having to be paused when German centre-back Antonio Rudiger was targeted with racist abuse by a section of the crowd.

On Sunday evening, Referee had to stop the play during the second half when an object was thrown at Chelsea's goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga and Rudiger told him he had suffered racist taunts. Rudiger appeared to indicate a supporter had shouted a monkey chant at him, reports The Guardian.

"We are now conducting a thorough investigation which will include liaising with Chelsea and their players for their observations," the club said in a statement.

"Any form of racism is completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated in our stadium. We take any such allegations extremely seriously and shall take the strongest possible action against any individual found to be behaving in such a way, including stadium bans."

The Spurs may avoid to be charged by the Football Association over the racism, as it has no jurisdiction over individual fans. However, the club could be asked for observations over missiles thrown from the stands.