Man United condemn Tuanzebe, Martial racist abuse on social media
Manchester United have described some supporters who racially abused Anthony Martial and Axel Tuanzebe on social media as “mindless idiots.”
Both players started the 2-1 Premier League defeat at Old Trafford.
The club issued a statement on Thursday to say they were “disgusted” by the messages received by Martial and Tuanzebe and urged social media companies to take more action to protect users on their platforms.
The statement issued by United 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.”
Anti-racism charity Kick it Out said the continued abuse of players on social media is “completely unacceptable” and reiterated its stance that those responsible for online hate must face “real-life consequences”.
“We know that discriminatory abuse can have significant real world impact on the welfare of the victims,” Kick it Out chairman Sanjay Bhandari said.
“We will continue to work with the football authorities, law enforcement and social media companies to try to rid football of hateful and discriminatory behaviour.”
The Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA), the players’ union, has encouraged Tuanzebe and Martial – as well as any other player targeted by racial abuse – to “press charges”.
“We want perpetrators to be held accountable for their online behaviour,” the PFA said in a statement.
“The accounts of those sending the messages must be banned. Their details need to be provided to the appropriate authorities to take further action.”