United condemn racist abuse of Young on social media

Published April 17, 2019
Manchester United's Ashley Young looks dejected after the match on Tuesday in Barcelona. — Reuters
Manchester United's Ashley Young looks dejected after the match on Tuesday in Barcelona. — Reuters

Manchester United have condemned racist abuse of their defender Ashley Young on social media in the aftermath of their Champions League elimination at Barcelona.

Young was targeted on Twitter following United's 3-0 quarter-final second-leg defeat on Tuesday.

The foul abuse of Young brought swift condemnation from United, who said in a statement: “Manchester United utterly condemns racist social media comments posted around yesterday's Champions League fixture.

“We are working to identify individuals involved and we will take the strongest possible action we can against them.

“There is no place for racism within our game, or in society as a whole, and we are committed to working to make football free from all forms of discrimination.”

The 33-year-old was partially at fault for Barcelona's first goal as his clearance was blocked, leading to Lionel Messi scoring as the hosts went on to win 4-0 on aggregate.

Anti-discrimination campaigners Kick It Out called upon the social media platform to act following a series of incidents.

The organisation said via its own Twitter account: “Yet another black player, this time Ashley Young, targeted with racist abuse on social media after tonight's Champions League game.

“Again, we're left asking @TwitterUK the same question — when will you take serious action to tackle the rampant discrimination on your platform?”

Twitter was swift to respond, confirming that the posts concerned had violated its abusive behaviour policy and that the account holders would be required to remove them before they could tweet again.

Premier League stars Mohamed Salah, Danny Welbeck, Raheem Sterling, Michy Batshuayi, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Moussa Sissoko have all received abuse over the same platform in recent years.

England's black players were subjected to repeated chants during their Euro 2020 qualifier in Montenegro last month, while Tottenham defender Danny Rose revealed recently he has “had enough” of racism in football and “can't wait” to quit the game.

Opinion

Editorial

Judiciary’s SOS
Updated 28 Mar, 2024

Judiciary’s SOS

The ball is now in CJP Isa’s court, and he will feel pressure to take action.
Data protection
28 Mar, 2024

Data protection

WHAT do we want? Data protection laws. When do we want them? Immediately. Without delay, if we are to prevent ...
Selling humans
28 Mar, 2024

Selling humans

HUMAN traders feed off economic distress; they peddle promises of a better life to the impoverished who, mired in...
New terror wave
Updated 27 Mar, 2024

New terror wave

The time has come for decisive government action against militancy.
Development costs
27 Mar, 2024

Development costs

A HEFTY escalation of 30pc in the cost of ongoing federal development schemes is one of the many decisions where the...
Aitchison controversy
Updated 27 Mar, 2024

Aitchison controversy

It is hoped that higher authorities realise that politics and nepotism have no place in schools.