Tottenham: Investigation into alleged racist abuse 'inconclusive' so far

Tottenham said in a statement Monday that preliminary findings from their investigation into allegations of racist abuse are "inconclusive."

Spurs began to review camera footage and compile evidence after Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger claimed he was targeted with racist abuse during Sunday's match against Tottenham.

"We are able to track every fan via the cameras and have spent many hours reviewing CCTV footage," Tottenham said. "We have engaged lip readers to study the footage and contacted Chelsea for further information from their players. We have also taken statements from other parties present at the time. The police will be reviewing our evidence alongside us."

Spurs reiterated they would hand out a lifetime ban to anyone found guilty of the alleged racist abuse.

Referee Anthony Taylor asked the stadium announcer to issue three warnings over the public address system midway through the second half of Chelsea's 2-0 win. Spurs later said the announcements pertained to only one incident.

Tottenham seemed to take issue with Taylor's decision to follow UEFA protocol over the Premier League's. The first step of UEFA's procedure requires an announcement to be made. However, the club said Premier League protocol "differs from UEFA protocol in that it does not call for an announcement, rather that the individual(s) be dealt with by the safety team in the first instance."

Spurs asked for the Premier League to clarify its position. The league responded later Monday, explaining that it uses a "protocol specifically designed to support players, managers, and match officials who believe they are being subjected to discriminatory abuse during a match."

Further details weren't provided.

The incident appeared to occur shortly after Tottenham's Heung-Min Son was shown a red card for a violent challenge on Rudiger.