José Mourinho says that Eric Dier will start at Burnley on Saturday because the player has put his high-profile altercation with a Tottenham fan behind him and is in the right frame of mind.
The Spurs manager believes his player has “nothing to be afraid of, nothing to be ashamed of” following the incident on Wednesday in the emotional aftermath of the FA Cup penalty shootout loss at home to Norwich.
Dier clambered into the stands to seek out the abusive supporter who had become embroiled in an argument with his youngest brother. The Football Association has still to decide whether to bring a misconduct charge against Dier, who did not reach the fan so there was no physical confrontation.
Afraid
“What about Eric being in the right frame of mind to play tomorrow?” Mourinho said. “Of course. The only thing that matters is, first of all, that nothing really big happened. And, secondly, he played so, so well in the last two matches. Of course he is going to play.
“I did not consider giving him the weekend off. I would never do that. The player played so well. Nothing happened, nothing to be afraid of, nothing to be ashamed of. The football world is behind [him] and understands completely the circumstances. Nothing. Of course he’s right to play.”
– Guardian
