Mido, the Middlesbrough forward subjected to unsavoury chants during a stormy Tyne-Tees derby on Sunday, has defended his actions in confronting the Newcastle United fans who singled him out for racist abuse.

The Egypt international has labelled as drunkards those among the 3,000-strong travelling support who risked tarnishing Newcastle’s reputation with regular renditions of an offensive chant to overshadow an enthralling encounter at the Riverside Stadium.

“I just think it’s ridiculous,” the forward, signed for £6 million from Tottenham Hotspur earlier this month, said. “They were taking the p*ss. Maybe some of them were drunk or something.” The chants were too vociferous and sustained to be written off as the actions of a mindless few among Newcastle supporters, who are usually regarded as a credit to their club.

“I heard it, it was very clear and I understood what they were saying,” Mido said. Middlesbrough have no plans to make an official complaint, but a club spokesman confirmed that the FA will not tolerate any instances of anti-Islamic chanting, and that it will look into the weekend’s events if they are mentioned in the match report of Mike Dean, the referee.

The caution that Mido received from Dean after the player, clearly upset by the sustained level of abuse he was receiving, confronted the away end after his goal in the 2-2 draw, merely rubbed salt into the wound, as far as the 24-year-old was concerned.

Police and stewards were mobilised in front of Newcastle supporters as they were approached by Mido with his finger to his lips in a shushing gesture, before he was ushered away by his Middlesbrough teammates. “The chants made me want to score more goals,” Mido said. “I was delighted to score and I wanted another.”

Nufc.com, the popular website for Newcastle fans, insisted that the actions of the forward merited a yellow card. A spokesman said: “He rushed to the away fans who had been mocking him all afternoon. Some clearly visible gestures and abuse rightly saw Mido booked before play restarted only for the Egyptian to continue with further V signs at the away end once play resumed. Similar gesturing was later replicated by Julio Arca [the Middlesbrough midfield player] when he was barracked for his Sunderland past.”

It is not the first time Mido has been the unwilling recipient of such abuse since his arrival at White Hart Lane at the start of 2005. “I am used to it from opposition fans,” he said. “But I was really frustrated when the referee gave me a yellow card.”

The former Roma forward, whose celebration was viewed by Dean as threatening to incite supporters, was one of six Middlesbrough players booked on Sunday, triggering an automatic fine for the club.

“I don’t understand why I got booked. I was told it was for security reasons but I don’t see how that’s possible. I don’t see what I did which would affect the security of the fans. I just put my finger to my mouth to say ‘quiet’,” Mido said. “But I suppose that’s football and you have to get on with it.”

The incident has overshadowed goalscoring contributions from the forward in both of his games since his move to Teesside. “I’ve not got a point to prove, I play to my physical strengths,” Mido said. “The fans appreciate players who fight for the team and they see I’m fighting for the club.”

Mido, who is likely to be rested for the Carling Cup visit of Northampton Town tomorrow night because of a minor ankle problem, was more charitable in his view towards the Middlesbrough supporters, who have quickly installed him as a cult hero after the recent departure of Mark Viduka and, in all likelihood, Yakubu Ayegbeni.

“It’s always great to score goals,” he said. “That’s especially so with them coming so early after a move. The Middlesbrough supporters have been fantastic to me and I feel really settled already.”