Marcus Rashford received racist abuse on social media following Manchester United’s defeat in the Europa League final on Wednesday night (...
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| Marcus Rashford received racist abuse on social media following Manchester United’s defeat in the Europa League final on Wednesday night (Photo: REUTERS/Maja Hitij) |
Police are investigating racist abuse directed at footballer Marcus Rashford, who said he received more than 70 vile messages following his team’s Europa League final defeat on Wednesday night.
After Manchester United lost on penalties to Villarreal, the England international said he was inundated with racist messages on social media.
“At least 70 racial slurs on my social accounts counted so far,” he tweeted shortly after midnight on Wednesday. “For those working to make me feel any worse than I already do, good luck trying.”
He also revealed that one of the messages of abuse appeared to come from the Twitter account of a maths teacher.
“I’m more outraged that one of the abusers that left a mountain of monkey emojis in my DM is a maths teacher with an open profile,” Rashford tweeted. “He teaches children!! And knows that he can freely racially abuse without consequence…”
Assistant Chief Constable for Greater Manchester Police, Chris Sykes said the force were investigating the posts and working to identify the users behind them. He warned that individuals who make abusive posts online could face criminal charges.
“We are aware of a number of racially aggravated social media posts made yesterday evening towards numerous Manchester United players. We are working through the posts from yesterday, which originate from countries across the world as well as the UK, to investigate these crimes,” Mr Sykes said. “We take these reports very seriously and are working with our partners to ensure those responsible are identified.”
“Nobody should be subject to hateful language and abuse and it is deeply upsetting not only to those who receive these comments, but to anyone who witnesses it on a public forum. Those who make these posts subject themselves, not just to criminal proceedings but to long-term implications to their personal and professional lives by making these comments.”
The Department for Education also confirmed that it was looking into Rashford’s claim that one of the abusers was a teacher.
This process sees allegations investigated by officials, who make a decision as to whether a formal panel should be convened. If that goes ahead, the panel will listen to evidence of make a recommendation to the Education Secretary about sanctions, which could include a ban on teaching.
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