Wilfried Zaha has been subjected to racist abuse on social media after his Crystal Palace side beat Manchester City on Saturday.
The Ivorian winger opened the scoring at the Etihad Stadium with a well-placed shot into the far corner and was heavily involved in the incident that saw Aymeric Laporte sent off for a challenge that denied a clear goal-scoring opportunity, but this performance has now been overshadowed by how he has yet again encountered racially motivated abuse online.
Wilfried Zaha Suffers Racist Abuse After Crystal Palace Beat Manchester City
Zaha Speaks Out
The 28-year-old posted on his Instagram story several screenshots of racist messages he had received following the match accompanied by a message of exasperation about the way in which racism in football is being tackled and its continued presence in the game.
“This message isn’t for me to get a million messages saying we stand with you and it’s disgusting or about me getting sympathy,” Zaha posted.
“I’m not here for all the nonsense that is being done instead of fixing the actual problem!
“I don’t mind abuse because nowadays it comes with doing the job I do even though it’s not an excuse but my colour will always be the real problem but it’s fine because I’ll always be BLACK AND PROUD!
“Speak to me when you actual take this issue serious.”
This is not the first time Zaha has had to suffer racist abuse, having revealed in the summer of 2020 that he was “scared” to open Instagram due to the number of racist messages he had received. This came after a 12-year-old boy was arrested in connection to making racist threats against the Ivorian.
In another stand against racism, Zaha decided to opt against taking the knee before kickoff earlier this year, a gesture that is meant to demonstrate a stand against the issue.
He said that it had just become part of the pre-match routine, and instead called for improved education on racial inequality and for social media companies to start taking “strong action” on abuse.
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