Liverpool demand action after Trent Alexander-Arnold, Naby Keita and Sadio Mane racially abused online
Trent Alexander-Arnold against Real Madrid on Tuesday night
Liverpool have demanded action after Trent Alexander-Arnold, Naby Keita and Sadio Mane became the latest victims of racist abuse on social media platforms.
Following their 3-1 loss to Real Madrid in the Champions League last night, Keita received comments of monkey and banana emojis on an Instagram post. Similar abuse was left on Alexander-Arnold’s post on Easter Sunday, while Mane also received monkey and banana emojis and was called a “gorilla” and a “monkey” by social media users.
According to Sky Sports News, Facebook, which owns Instagram, is currently investigating the incidents.
Liverpool criticised the abuse, calling it “abhorrent”, and asked for social media platforms to do more to crack down on online abuse.
A spokesperson said: “Once again we are sadly discussing abhorrent racial abuse the morning after a football game. It is utterly unacceptable, and it has to stop. The current situation cannot be allowed to continue, and it is incumbent on all of us to ensure that it does not.”
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Brentford striker Ivan Toney was also subject to similar racist abuse on Tuesday after his team’s goalless draw to Birmingham.
Toney posted on his Instagram story a private message that used racist language, as well as monkey and banana emojis, and later posted another screenshot of the same message from the same user that had been sent to his teammate Bryan Mbeumo.
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Brentford released a statement that said: “We are appalled to see yet more spineless, racist abuse directed at Ivan Toney on Instagram this evening. This has to stop. Now. We stand with Ivan, and all those who continue to suffer abuse online.”
This is the second time Toney has shared the abuse he experiences online after he reported a user who sent him abuse in January. Instagram banned the user from the platform.
Thierry Henry also recently deleted all of his social media accounts after the abuse he received was “too toxic to ignore”, and said that platforms needed to take racism and online abuse more seriously.
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