Arsenal release statement after Willian shares yet more disgusting racist abuse
Arsenal have condemned the "depressing" racist abuse suffered by Willian and insist they will "punish those responsible" for the hate crime.
Willian, 32, shared on Instagram screenshots of the vile messages he had received from three separate social media users.
The Brazilian is the latest in a string of Premier League stars to receive racist abuse this year.
Manchester United trio Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford and Axel Tuanzebe and Chelsea duo Reece James and Antonio Rudiger have also been targeted.
The Football Association has demanded social media companies do more to clamp down on abuse, while Arsenal vow it cannot be allowed to become "a normalised part of the game".
"This is another depressing example of what is sadly happening to our players and many others on a regular basis," said an Arsenal spokesperson.
"Social media is one of the ways our supporters across the world can feel closer to the club and our players, but across football and beyond we’ve seen an online world poisoned by hateful, racist and discriminatory words.
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"As our chief executive Vinai Venkatesham said only yesterday, we cannot underestimate the impact abuse has on individuals and the recent spate of abuse needs to be a wake-up call.
"We all need to work together to drive this behaviour out. This includes clubs, governing bodies, fans, media and politicians; but requires the help and commitment of social media companies.
"Through Arsenal for Everyone we strive to ensure that everyone connected to the club feels an equal sense of belonging. We will continue to celebrate our diversity and use our platforms to educate others and continue our zero-tolerance approach to discrimination.
"We commit to using our voice and network to strengthen measures and action taken by relevant authorities to punish those responsible for this abuse which affects us all.
"Where any individual is found to have an Arsenal membership, they will be banned. We cannot and will not let racist and hateful abuse become a normalised part of the game."
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