Dier says the family doesn’t attend away games due to fan behavior


Tottenham Hotspur defender Eric Dier said fan behavior at football matches was a serious problem and he felt “too uncomfortable” for his family to be able to attend away games.

The Premier League said in June it would introduce enhanced security measures to prevent crowd misconduct, with clubs unanimously agreeing that visiting teams will provide additional stewards for away games.

Dier said some of his family and friends had struggled at Stamford Bridge during Tottenham’s 2-2 draw with Chelsea in the league last month.

“For me, that (fan behavior) is a serious problem. I had some family and friends at Chelsea’s away game against Tottenham and they were struggling and stuff,” said Dier.

“I wanted to emphasize that it was both groups of fans – I’m not saying it’s Chelsea fans or Tottenham fans, it’s football fans in general.”

In 2020, Dier was suspended for four games and fined by the FA for a confrontation with a fan after Spurs lost to Norwich City in the FA Cup. British media reported the supporter had fallen out with his brother.

“We played Burnley after I went into the stands for the next away game and the Burnley fans sang a song about my brother and I like that kind of thing – I think it’s quite funny,” said Dier.

“But there are some things that I find very strange. It’s not pretty. My family would never go to an away game because of that these days – and it’s a shame I feel too uncomfortable when they go to away games.”