Police confirm they are investigating racist abuse of Arsenal star Bukayo Saka
The Metropolitan Police are investigating a racially aggravated tweet aimed at Bukayo Saka following Sunday’s 2-2 draw against West Ham.
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A message posted on Twitter soon after the Gunners dropped two valuable points in the title race depicted Saka as a monkey, alongside the words: ‘This clown has cost us the league.’
Under the post, another Twitter user tagged the Metropolitan Police and said the message was a hate crime.
‘This has already been reported and is currently being investigated,’ the police force replied on Tuesday.
The account of the person who posted the message was not publicly viewable as of Tuesday.
Saka has enjoyed a stellar campaign, enhancing his burgeoning reputation by playing a leading role in Arsenal’s unlikely challenge to be crowned Premier League champions.
The 21-year-old endured a rare moment of misfortune at the London Stadium, however, squandering the chance to put his side 3-1 ahead when he missed the target with a second half penalty.
West Ham equalised minutes later to leave Arsenal with a four-point lead over Manchester City, having started the weekend with an advantage of six.
It isn’t the first time Saka has been racially abused on social media after failing to score from the spot.
He did the same for England in a penalty shootout loss to Italy in the European Championship final in 2021. Saka was abused along with fellow black players Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho, who also failed from 12 yards.
Reacting to Sunday’s costly miss, Saka wrote on Instagram: ‘Regardless of the outcome, I’ll always accept my responsibility. Apologies Gunners, I’ll do everything I can to make it right.’
His manager Mikel Arteta said after the game: ‘A player who takes penalties misses penalties, I don’t know anyone who hasn’t.
‘If I had to pick one player to do it, it would be him again. In that moment we missed it and this is football.’
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