Man Utd to take action against ‘disgusting’ racist abuse of Paul Pogba.
Paul Pogba has become the latest player to suffer racist abuse after his penalty was saved in Manchester United’s 1-1 draw at Wolves last night.
United, who were held to a draw after Anthony Martial’s opener was canceled out by Ruben Neves, could have claimed the win, but Pogba’s second-half penalty was saved by goalkeeper Rui Patricio, leading to the abuse.
United have been left appalled and have vowed to take the strongest course of action against those involved.
“Everyone at Manchester United is disgusted by the racial abuse aimed at Paul Pogba last night and we utterly condemn it,” the club said in a statement seen by @thenairobireport this morning.
“The individuals who expressed these views do not represent the values of our great club and it is encouraging to see the vast majority of our 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 #AllRedAllEqual initiative. We will work to identify the few involved and take the strongest course of action available to us. We also encourage social media companies to take action in these cases.”
As well as Abraham and Pogba, Reading striker Yakou Meite was racially abused on social media over the weekend after his penalty was saved during their win against Cardiff.
Meite highlighted messages after the game on Sunday which showed the level of abuse, with one message labeling him a “f****** monkey”.
The fact three players have been targeted in the opening weeks of the season has put pressure on social media companies to take greater action.
Twitter responded last week by explaining they remain committed to the cause, but this latest episode involving Pogba will see them come under greater scrutiny.
“We continue to take action on any account that violates the Twitter rules,” said a spokesperson. “We welcome people to freely express themselves on our service, however, as outlined in our Hateful Conduct Policy, users cannot promote violence against, threaten or harass other people on the basis of race, ethnicity or other protected groups.”
Meanwhile, in a statement, Kick It Out said: “The latest round of fixtures have again seen unwarranted and vile racist abuse sent to players.
“The numbers of posts such as these since the start of the season further highlights how discriminatory abuse online is out of control.
“Without immediate and the strongest possible action these cowards acts will continue to grow.”
