Son Heung-min was visibly devastated after an incident which left Andre Gomes with a broken ankle in Everton's 1-1 draw with Tottenham.The South Korean made what replays showed to be a fairly innocuous challenge, but the midfielder subsequently slid into Serge Aurier and was left writhing in pain.Martin Atkinson initially took a yellow card out of his pocket, changing his mind and brandishing a red on reflection once he'd realised how serious the injury was.Toffees fans voiced their outrage throughout the rest of the match. One thing's for sure - everyone in the stadium, including Atkinson, might have had a different view once they'd seen a replay.There was no malice at all in Son's tackle and his tearful reaction was wholeheartedly genuine.

Real football fans will accept that.

However, Everton are investigating amid allegations that the Tottenham forward was racially abused by a supporter in the Goodison Park stands in the aftermath of the incident.

Everton Fan Services, the arm of the club who receive such reports, issued the following statement on Twitter:

"Everton is investigating an alleged incident of racist behaviour by a supporter attending today’s fixture against Tottenham.

"Everton strongly condemns any form of racism. Any such behaviour has no place within our stadium, our Club, our community or our game."

Sadly, this is not the first time the 27-year-old has been on the receiving end of racist abuse since joining Spurs in 2015.

His FA Cup hat-trick against Millwall in 2017 was marred by offensive chanting from the away end at White Hart Lane. The east London club escaped any sanction over the incident, though they have since received a paltry £10,000 fine over another count of racist singing.

The alleged incident on Merseyside was not the only report of racism on Sunday, either. 

In Italy, Mario Balotelli walked off the pitch and kicked the ball into the stands following chants from Hellas Verona supporters.

The Italian striker then went on to silence them in superb fashion with a brilliant goal in the 85th minute. 

Football - and that includes English football - has a long way to go, it would seem.