Son appeal rejected, Rüdiger abuse investigation ongoing, Spurs ban cup-throwing fan

The fallout from Sunday’s incident-filled derby against Spurs continues. Here’s the latest that doesn’t involve Mourinho or Lampard throwing thinly veiled shade at each other over play-acting, tactics, or keeping faith in youth.

The major flashpoint that soured the atmosphere was the sending off of Son Heung-min. The Spurs winger clearly kicked out at Rüdiger after the two tangled on a 50-50, and while the conduct wasn’t necessarily “violent”, the intent certainly was. Either way, it qualifies as “violent conduct”, which carries with it an automatic three-match ban. Spurs of course appeal, but as per Sky Sports, the Premier League have rejected the appeal. Son — “not that type of player” now on his third dismissal of the calendar year — will miss their games against Brighton, Norwich, and Southampton, which Spurs should win anyway, so they’ll probably be okay.

Someone who won’t be okay is the fan who threw an object (a cup) at Kepa Arrizabalaga after the aforementioned incident. That fan has now been banned from the stadium by Spurs. Considering that he could almost be identified on the TV footage, he had no hope of escaping the CCTV security cameras. Idiot. There were no further charges filed against him, unlike the Chelsea fan who was arrested for racially abusing Son.

The other major incident remains under “exhaustive investigation” by Spurs and the Metropolitan Police, who are engaging every resource they have at their disposal. Initial findings have been “inconclusive”, whatever that means, but the matter is far from resolved, according to Spurs’ official statement from Monday.

Spurs’ statement also clarified that despite three stadium announcements, there was only the one incident of racial abuse that was reported by Rüdiger, not three. The confusion stemmed from — surprise! — unclear Premier League regulations and protocol and Spurs’ claim that referee Anthony Taylor’s requested to follow UEFA protocol instead. Sounds a bit farcical, but what else is new.