West Ham United manager David Moyes worked with Eric Dier and Mikel Arteta at Everton.
Dier, who can operate as a midfielder or as a defender, had an altercation with a Tottenham fan after the match against Norwich City in the FA Cup.
As reported by BBC Sport, the England international climbed over seats in a stand at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to confront a supporter who had insulted him and his brother.
The FA are investigation the matter, according to the report, and it remains to be seen what eventually comes out of it.
Moyes worked with the 26-year-old at Everton, and the West Ham boss has given his take on the incident.
The former Manchester United manager has also praised Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta, with the Hammers due to face the Gunners in the Premier League this weekend.
Moyes told Football.London about Dier: “I know Eric well as he was with me at Everton, he is a great boy. Really good professional from a really good sporting family and background who understands all the issues in sport.
“For Eric to do what he has done, he must have been required and needed. In many ways I admire him and like it, I like how he stands up for his family, for himself, and you know we all get criticism and we have to take it in different ways.”
Moyes told West Ham’s official website about Arteta: “He was a great player for me. He helped change Everton, he helped change the team, he helped change the way we played. We’d had so many good players at the time – Mikel, Steven Pienaar and Leon Osman were all terrific football players – and it improved us greatly.”
The West Ham boss added: “I know Mikel, and I know his assistant Steve Round very well. Mikel’s now on another career path and doing really well. I think he’s started well and he’s learned under arguably one of the best coaches in the world in Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, so it’ll give him a lot of information to go with into the club he’s at.”
Relegation worries
West Ham won against Southampton last weekend, but the London club are still in danger of getting relegated to the Championship at the end of the season.
The Hammers are currently 16th in the standings, level on points with third-from-bottom Bournemouth.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
