Wednesday, September 21, 2022 at 08:22• Mart Oude Nijeweeme • Last update: 08:26

Eric Dier is deeply concerned about the deteriorating behavior of English football fans. The Tottenham Hotspur midfielder notes that the number of incidents has increased significantly in recent years and for that reason no longer has to count on the support of his family in away games, who no longer dare. Two years ago, Dier himself jumped into the audience to confront a fan who had a disagreement with his brother.

According to Dier, fan violence is taking serious forms in England. According to the midfielder, it has become so bad that his family no longer wants to go to away games. Since his personal confrontation with a fan from the audience, the behavior of supporters towards players has only gotten worse, according to Dier. “It’s a big, big problem,” said Dier. My family was at the Chelsea away game recently. It was verbal, not physical, but bad things were shouted. I’m not saying it’s just Chelsea or Tottenham fans, it’s football fans in general.”

Dier was given a four-match suspension and a €45,000 fine after the incident in 2020, when he entered the stands after his club’s home defeat to Norwich City in the FA Cup. “I never complain about things like this and I don’t mind. I’m not being dramatic about this and I don’t think anyone should be. It’s really not such a big deal for me”, Dier continues. “But there are things that I find very strange. It is not fun. My family would never go to an away game again. I feel too uncomfortable for them to go. This has been the case for years. My mom would love to, but I’m worried about that. That’s crazy, isn’t it?”

At the incident two years ago, Dier said afterwards that he addressed the spectator because he thought his brother was in trouble. However, there was no physical contact. The case was therefore not prosecuted by the Metropolitan Police after a short investigation. On Tuesday, when Dier was allowed to report back to the English national team for the first time in a long time, he briefly came back to the incident. “It wasn’t as dramatic as people make it out to be. But hey, I don’t regret it at all and would do it again.”