IVORY COAST (WEST AFRICA) – Crystal Palace’s Wilfried Zaha has called on social media platforms to identify and initiate the removal of users who resort to racist abuse. The forward was targeted before his team’s Premier League match at Aston Villa on Sunday.
The Ivory Coast international shared images of the messages he received, which included one from a member of the white supremacist organisation, the Ku Klux Klan. A 12-year-old boy from Solihull was arrested.
Zaha thanked West Midlands Police for taking swift action, however, added it was not enough to promote anti-racism slogans.
He took to Twitter to say, “People need to understand that whatever your age, that your behaviour and your words come with consequences and you cannot hide behind social media.”
“It’s important social media platforms do as they did yesterday and seek out these individuals and remove them. This is not the first time I have received messages like this, nor am I the only player to receive messages like this – it happens every day.
“It’s not enough to be disgusted by these messages I received and move on. It isn’t enough to just say #notoracism. We need action, we need education, things need to change.”
Sheffield United’s David McGoldrick, who scored twice in a 3-0 win over Chelsea on Saturday, became the target of racist abuse. His club posted a screenshot from the player’s Instagram account with a caption saying “2020 and this is life”.
Sheffield United said on Twitter, “As a club we will support David McGoldrick and will do all we can to find the perpetrator of this disgusting message.”
“We will work with the relevant authorities to ensure the person behind this post is brought to justice. This cannot continue. Something needs to change.”
(Photos syndicated via Reuters)
This story has been edited by BH staff and is published from a syndicated field.