British football team Manchester United have condemned racist abuse targeted towards players Axel Tuanzebe and Anthony Martial.
Racist trolls took to social media to bombard Tuanzebe and Martial with racial abuse following their performances in United’s 2-1 home defeat to Sheffield United.
We are #UnitedAgainstRacism.
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) January 28, 2021
Then, now and always.
In a statement, United said: “Everyone at Manchester United is disgusted by the racial abuse received by players via social media after last night’s game.
“We utterly condemn it and it is encouraging to see other fans condemn this on social media also. Manchester United has zero tolerance of any form of racism or discrimination and a long-standing commitment to campaigning against it through our All Red All Equal initiative,” the statement reads.
“Identifying these anonymous mindless idiots remains problematic. We urge social media platforms and regulatory authorities to strengthen measures to prevent this kind of behaviour.”
I honestly can't believe people are racially abusing Axel Tuanzebe because of a bad game of football
— Aidan Walsh 🔰 (@AidanWalshMUFC) January 28, 2021
People are sick in the head, there's no room for you in this sport or let alone in the world #FuckRacism pic.twitter.com/0CjIBzJMUT
We are Manchester United and there's no room for racism among us.🇾🇪🇾🇪🇾🇪 pic.twitter.com/omFgjChYh2
— Bawunah Apollo🧣💚💛 (@bawunah) January 28, 2021
No man, racism against Tuanzebe isn't right. @ManUtd please do something about this. #ManchesterUnited pic.twitter.com/lJOBVnmOOB
— Top Militerian 🐍 (@LupashaChellah) January 28, 2021
Unfortunately, even in 2021, racism and UK football are synonymous.
In 2014, Kick It Out was established as a campaign with the brand name ‘Let’s Kick Racism Out of Football’ in 1993 before being established as an organization in 1997. The organization works throughout football, educational and community sectors to challenge discrimination, encourage inclusive practices and campaign for positive change.
In September, the company reported a 42% increase in reports of discrimination in English professional football last season, which it described as “shocking.”
"We are disappointed that players are continuing to be subject to racist abuse on their social platforms, it is completely unacceptable."
— Kick It Out (@kickitout) January 28, 2021
Read the full statement from @SanjayKickItOut here 👇🏽 https://t.co/drFjic5za5
Kick It Out chair Sanjay Bhandari said: “We are disappointed that players are continuing to be subject to racist abuse on their social platforms, it is completely unacceptable.
“We will continue to work with the football authorities, law enforcement and social media companies to try and rid football of hateful and discriminatory behaviour.”