Tottenham promise to punish Ramsdale attacker
An investigation into the incident will be launched by the FA, who will work with the police and Tottenham.
Tottenham Hotspur promised to take the strongest possible action against a supporter who appeared to kick Aaron Ramsdale after the final whistle.
The Metropolitan Police said that they were investigating reports of an assault on an Arsenal player but had yet to make an arrest.
Ramsdale, the Arsenal goalkeeper, bent down to collect his water bottle at full-time when a fan climbed on to an advertising hoarding and thrust out his right foot as a steward tried to block him. The fan then turned and scrambled back up the South Stand at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Ramsdale, who had moments earlier been involved in a spat with the Tottenham forward Richarlison, turned around and was dragged away by his teammates.
An investigation into the incident will be launched by the FA, who will work with the police and Tottenham.
The Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) warned that incidents with fans have become too common and pose a danger to players. Everton players were confronted outside Goodison Park by their supporters after the defeat by Southampton on Saturday.
Tottenham said in a statement: “We are appalled by the behaviour of a supporter that attempted to attack Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale at the end of today’s match. Violence in any form has no place in football.
“The club has reviewed its CCTV footage to identify the supporter and will be working with the Met Police, Arsenal and Aaron Ramsdale to take the strongest possible action, including an immediate ban from Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.” Ramsdale, 24, admitted he exchanged words with home fans behind his goal.
“The Spurs fans gave me some [stick] throughout the game and the people I did give it back to greeted it in sportsmanlike terms but one fan tried to give me a little punch on the back,” he said. “It is a shame as it is just a game of football at the end of the day. Both sets of players tried to bring me away but thankfully nothing too drastic happened. It left a sour taste but I’m sure we will enjoy it when we go back into the dressing room.”
The fan appeared to react when Ramsdale celebrated his team’s victory — their first away to their north London rivals in nine years — by pointing to his badge. The goalkeeper was then confronted by Richarlison and the pair pushed and shoved each other before being separated by a steward.
Antonio Conte, the Tottenham head coach, expressed his anger at the incident. “If this type of situation happened, it’s not good,” he said. “If we want respect, we have to show respect.”
Mikel Arteta, the Arsenal manager, who helped to lead Ramsdale and other players including Granit Xhaka away from the incident, said he had not seen anything. “I just want to talk about football and the beautiful game we just played,” he said. “Tomorrow we can review that.”
At the start of the season the football authorities promised action on fan behaviour after a series of incidents in the previous campaign in which supporters invaded the pitch — and the FA put out a statement strongly condemning the “wholly unacceptable behaviour” of the fan at the match.
The crackdown by the FA, EFL and Premier League was backed by the Football Supporters’ Association and the PFA. “Violence towards players is completely unacceptable,” the PFA said in a statement. “These types of incidents are happening far too often. Players have a right to be safe in their place of work.”
The Premier League said: “There is no place in football for acts of violence, and under no circumstance should players be attacked or fear for their safety at games.”
