Eric Dier banned for FOUR matches and fined £40,000 after jumping into crowd to confront fan

Tottenham midfielder Eric Dier has been banned for four matches and fined £40,000 for jumping into the crowd to confront a fan in March. 

England international Dier claimed he had left the pitch and entered the stands, clambering over rows of seats in an attempt to protect his brother who he noticed had become involved in an argument with an angry fan.

Dier admitted his actions were ‘improper’ but denied that they were also ‘threatening’ – the incident happened at Spurs’ ground on March 4 after they had been beaten on penalties by Norwich in the FA Cup fifth round.  

Eric Dier has been hit with a four-game ban and fined £40,000 for jumping into the stands

Tottenham’s Dier climbed into the crowd to angrily confront a fan after the loss to Norwich

The England international has been sanctioned by the Football Association on a charge of misconduct for the incident.

There was no physical exchange and the matter was not pursued by the Metropolitan Police after a brief investigation.

However, the FA has opted to punish Dier for a breach of rule E3.

The punishment, which rules Dier out for all but one of Spurs’ remaining Premier League games this season – including Sunday’s North London Derby – is sure to enrage boss Jose Mourinho, who has defended his player on the matter from the off.

He recently said that he did not expect Dier to receive any punishment after the FA chose not to sanction Arsenal’s Matteo Guendouzi for grabbing Brighton striker Neal Maupay around the neck.

Dier’s absence will be a blow for Spurs in their pursuit of European football next season as he has been an impressive performer in central defence since the season restarted last month.