Tottenham midfielder Eric Dier “made a big, big mistake” when stepping into the stands to take on an angry fan after they left the FA Cup in Norwich, according to Jamie O’Hara.
The former Spurs man thinks the incident could damage Dier’s reputation with his supporters forever, as he threw himself into the crowd to allegedly end a fight in which his brother was involved.
But it was not only the opinion of a Tottenham supporter who called talkSPORT to defend the English international and insisted that the whole incident had been disproportionate.
Characteristics Rex
Dier was seen fighting in the stands after the defeat against Norwich
Social media descended into a frenzy Wednesday night after a multitude of videos and photos were posted of Dier jumping over the barrier and climbing the stands to apparently confront a fan who was angry after seeing his team drop FA Cup on penalties.
According to Jose Mourinho, however, he was rushing to defend his brother, who appeared to have been scrapped with a supporter.
Speaking at Thursday’s Alan Brazil sports breakfast, O’Hara said he understood Dier’s actions but believed he had made a “big mistake” in speaking personally.
However, the Steve the Spurs fan defended the player and said he had done nothing wrong.
“I don’t think it’s bad at all, I think it’s out of proportion,” he said after calling the show.
“He didn’t do anything wrong, he didn’t do Cantona or anything like that – it didn’t happen.
Dier climbed on billboards and seats to face the fan
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Angry Tottenham star must have been detained
“I think it’s just a symptom of this country where the people causing the problems are getting away with it and Eier is going to get away with it, even if he didn’t do anything wrong.”
Commenting on the incident, O’Hara said, “Eric Dier made a very big mistake.
“The problem he has now is that it’s going to stay with him, that’s what Spurs fans will remember.
“I can understand it because it’s family and when you see family and someone who gave them their stick, your emotions can take over.
“But you can’t walk in the crowd and climb into the stands to access it, because everyone has a camera phone, he’s in a Tottenham shirt, he climbs into the crowd and it looks really terrible for him.
“We are all moved, especially after the games and he knows it was a big game for Tottenham and he knows he should have done better, the team should have done better and they should have passed, but they didn’t haven’t done.
“But what you can’t do is react. He just has to try to compose himself.”
