Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger wants to end a difficult campaign on a high by beating Arsenal at Wembley in this season's FA Cup final .
Rudiger has struggled with form and injury this season and felt like he was cast as a “liar” after he said was racially abused by Tottenham fans during a game last December.
No evidence was found to support his complaint and the German was then booed by Spurs supporters in the return fixture at Stamford Bridge in February.
Rudiger was in no doubt as to what he heard from the stands and admitted the whole episode left him feeling “totally alone” during a time when racism blighted English football.
The centre-back also missed four months at the start of the season with injury problems and at times his performances dipped in a team that ended the season with Chelsea’s worst defensive record for 23 years.
But, after Chelsea secured a Champions League place last weekend, Rudiger says lifting the FA Cup would be an ideal end to a tough campaign.
“I do not want to give any excuses but for me definitely it has been a tough season with everything,” he said. “In the performances, there were some good games and also bad games. It has been up and down. Personally with my season I am not that happy.
“I always try to look at the positive. This is who I am, I am a positive guy. But on that specific thing, racism, I am sorry but I cannot be positive. At the end of the day no one got charged. It looked like I was a liar.
“It is not only about me. It is about players and other people. I want people to live free. Accept that some people are black, other ones are white, or yellow or even if they are green, it does not matter.”
Rudiger has been encouraged by the Black Lives Matter movement but feels there is still a long way to go in the fight against racism.
“To the authorities who came with the idea to take a knee and put Black Lives Matter on the jerseys and everything, I have to say thanks very much for your support,” said the 27-year-old.
“I see positives because I really hope people care and you can see people care. This is an ongoing story.
“I believe it will never have an end. But if you see authorities are taking actions and doing something, it makes you happy.”
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Rudiger has fond memories of the FA Cup. He was man-of-the-match when Chelsea beat Manchester United 1-0 in the 2018 Final and Frank Lampard will need another big display from him tomorrow.
Chelsea conceded 54 goals in the Premier League, their highest number since 1997, which was the worst record of the top-10 sides this season.
“It is definitely something we need to work on,” said Rudiger, who is set to form part of a three-man defence ahead of back-up goalkeeper Willy Caballero rather than Kepa Arrizabalaga. “We are aware of that.
“It has more to do with consistency. On our day, we can beat everyone. Then when it is not our day, we can also lose against everyone. This is the balance we have to find. It is like life, to find the goal in the middle can be difficult.
“It has been difficult to arrive at this point but now we are there. You have to always enjoy these types of moments, these types of pressures. We want to do everything to win this trophy.”
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