- Saturday, April 20, 2024
By: Sattwik Biswal
MARCUS RASHFORD said he has been subjected to “at least 70 racial slurs” on social media following Manchester United’s defeat to Villarreal in the Europa League final on Wednesday (26).
The final was decided in a shootout, which Villarreal won 11-10 in Gdansk.
“At least 70 racial slurs on my social accounts counted so far,” the Manchester United forward tweeted.
“For those working to make me feel any worse than I already do, good luck trying.”
After learning about its players’ “disgraceful racist abuse” following the match, the club urged users to report any form of abuse or discrimination.
A host of players at Premier League clubs have been targeted in the past few months, including United’s Anthony Martial, Manchester City’s Raheem Sterling, Liverpool’s Trent-Alexander Arnold and Sadio Mane, and Chelsea’s Reece James.
In February, English football bodies sent an open letter to Facebook and Twitter, urging blocking and swift takedowns of offensive posts, as well as to put in place an improved verification process for users.
Instagram has announced new measures and Twitter vowed to continue its efforts after taking action on over 700 cases of abuse related to football in Britain in 2019.
