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Sol upset by Spurs taunts

03/11/2005

Arsenal star Sol Campbell has admitted that he was upset by the abuse he received from Tottenham fans following the north London derby last weekend.

Campbell is Spurs fans' public enemy number one after crossing the north London divide to join the Gunners in 2001 and was subjected to a torrent of abuse during the game, with one irate fan running onto the pitch after the final whistle to confront him.

Despite his wealth of experience, the 31-year-old defender told reporters that he was left feeling hurt following the on-field altercation.

"You can't get used to it. People think you do, but you don't," he said.

"You can deal with people shouting or whatever when it's at the whole team, but when the spotlight is on one person, all you can do is be better prepared for it."

He has called on Spurs to ban the fan involved in the incident for life.

Campbell also denied that he deliberately elbowed Spurs midfielder Teemu Tainio during a fiery first-half last Saturday.

The clash left the Finnish midfielder needing two stitches to a head wound, with Spurs boss Martin Jol claiming that Campbell should have been sent off.

However, the defender believes TV replays prove his innocence and is confident that the FA will not take any action.

"I know in the heat of the moment people say 'elbow, elbow', it's the first reaction. But now having seen the replay, people will find it hard to find anything wrong with it," he said.

"Of course their manager is going to say it's a foul, that's normal, but when you look at it, you see my eyes are firmly fixed on the ball, and it's the same way I go for any ball."

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