Tottenham’s Eric Dier has received a four-match ban and been fined
£40,000 for climbing into the stands to confront a supporter after his
side’s FA Cup exit to Norwich.
The England international has been sanctioned by the Football
Association on a charge of misconduct for the incident, which happened
on March 4.
Dier, whose team had just lost a penalty shootout, saw his brother being
abused by a fan and raced to his aid. There was no physical exchange
and the matter was not pursued by the police after a brief
investigation.
However, the FA opted to punish Dier.
“Eric Dier has been suspended for four matches with immediate effect,
fined £40,000 ($50,000) and warned as to his future conduct following a
breach of FA Rule E3,” it said in a statement.
“The Tottenham Hotspur FC player admitted that his actions at the
conclusion of a fixture against Norwich City FC in The FA Cup on 4 March
2020 were improper but denied that they were also threatening.
“An independent regulatory commission subsequently found Eric Dier’s actions to be threatening.”
The punishment, which rules Dier out for all but one of Spurs’ remaining
Premier League games this season, will anger boss Jose Mourinho, who
has defended his player.
He recently said he did not expect Dier to receive any punishment after
the FA chose not to sanction Arsenal’s Matteo Guendouzi for grabbing
Brighton striker Neal Maupay around the neck.
Dier’s absence will be a blow for Spurs in their pursuit of European
football next season who has been the first choice in central defence
since the season restarted last month.
