Manchester United pair Anthony Martial and Axel Tuanzebe were both racially abused after Manchester United’s 2-1 home defeat to Sheffield United on Wednesday night.
The abuse was targeted to both players’ Instagram accounts following the conclusion of the match.
Anthony Martial and Axel Tuanzebe Racially Abused Following Manchester United Loss to Sheffield United
Manchester United Issue Club Statement Condemning Racial Abuse
In response to the abuse aimed at Martial and Tuanzebe, Manchester United issued a statement via their club website.
The statement, released on Thursday, January 28, read: “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.
“Identifying these anonymous mindless idiots remains problematic. We urge social media platforms and regulatory authorities to strengthen measures to prevent this kind of behaviour.”
Per Sky Sports, anti-racism group Kick It Out also condemned the abuse. Kick It Out chair Sanjay Bhandari stated: “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.
“As we have said before, online hate must have real-life consequences, so people don’t continue to spread hate as freely as they wish. The individuals responsible for this abuse will hopefully be identified by the social media platforms and swiftly removed.
“We know that discriminatory abuse can have a significant real-world impact on the welfare of the victims. We encourage the players to get such support from their club in the first instance, and support is also available from the PFA and Kick It Out.”
Manchester United Players Take to Social Media to Show Support for Racially Abused Tuanzebe and Martial
Several of United’s players, including captain Harry Maguire, Marcus Rashford and Fred took to Twitter to demonstrate their support for Tuanzebe and Martial.
With Tuanzebe also targeted on Twitter, the company stated: “Racist behaviour has no place on our service and when we identify accounts that violate any of the Twitter Rules, we take enforcement action. The tweet referenced is no longer on the service for violations of our hateful conduct policy.”
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