Chris Sutton has revealed that he was recently the subject of a street attack from a ‘Rangers’ fan.
The former Celtic striker is one of the most famous pundits on the Scottish game with contributions in the Daily Record, BT Sport, Daily Mail, BBC 5 Live and twitter.
Calling out matters at Ibrox comes fraught with problems even if many fans secretly agree with Sutton’s comments such as James Tavernier being a serial loser.
Abuse of footballers is taken as part and parcel of the game but when the role is reversed there is a different reaction as Eric Dier found out at Tottenham on Wednesday night.
The midfielder hurdled over rows of seats when he found his brother in an argument after Spurs were knocked out of the FA Cup on penalties by Norwich City.
English football has been taken back by the incident, after initially comparing it with Eric Cantona’s kung-fu attack opinion is swinging behind the player with the spotlight on the abuse that players come under.
In the Daily Mail Sutton explains:
It sometimes happens outside the stadium, too. I had a Rangers fan try to attack me a few weeks back in Scotland. Or I can tweet about Celtic and have a troll reply with pictures of my family dog, Buster, who recently died.
Football can be toxic. Then a player reacts, as Eric Dier did on Wednesday night, and all hell breaks loose.
Is Dier in the wrong? The Tottenham midfielder was apparently sticking up for a member of his family, and if that is the case, he was only doing what we would all do.
I defy anyone to say they would act differently. As a player, you’re pumped up, you’re full of adrenaline, then abuse is raining down on you. It was only a matter of time before a player reacted.
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The FA have contacted Dier for his version of events ahead of a possible misconduct charge.