MusaNewcastle United have acted swiftly after Joe Willock was the target of social media trolls after the 2-0 win over Crystal Palace.
Willock was sent vile messages after game ended with a missed chance for the midfielder. The ex-Arsenal man was consoled by team-mates after the game.
But Newcastle have since worked with Northumbria Police and have thrown an arm of support around the Toon player.
A statement from the club read: “We are disgusted by racist abuse received by Joe Willock on Instagram on Sunday evening.
“Following our win over Crystal Palace, Joe received several direct messages from an Instagram account that included racial slurs and deeply disturbing threats of violence towards Joe and his family.
“Sadly, Joe has faced this before. Each time, we have acted quickly to support him and that has been our immediate priority again.
“We have swiftly reported this matter to the police and we will fully support any investigation to identify the person responsible and hold them accountable, wherever they are.
“This can only happen with meaningful action from Meta, Instagram’s owners. We urge Meta to give the police all the information they need to identify the perpetrator, and to do so quickly.
“Removing content and applying message filters is not enough. Social media companies must do more to protect users and support the prosecution of those who seek to break the law on their platforms.
“We stand firmly with Joe and anyone else who faces this kind of abuse.”
Musa
