Manchester United have issued a club statement condemning the racist abuse perpetrated against midfielder Paul Pogba on social media. Additionally, some of the team’s star players have taken to Twitter and voiced their disgust with these developments.
United settled for a draw last night at Wolverhampton Wanderers, thanks in part (but obviously not thanks in full) to Pogba, instead of Marcus Rashford, taking a penalty kick, which he then missed. The decision to have Pogba take the PK, and the general protocol for how United decides who handles spot kick duty, was widely criticized last night. Club legend and Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville was very critical of the situation.
That said, Rashford defended his embattled teammate, both in post match interviews and on social media.
Enough now, this needs to stop @Twitter https://t.co/275sc9RriQ
— Marcus Rashford (@MarcusRashford) August 20, 2019
Manchester United is a family. @paulpogba is a huge part of that family. You attack him you attack us all… @ManUtd https://t.co/PgalnFQMeu
— Marcus Rashford (@MarcusRashford) August 20, 2019
Online trolling and racism are huge problems these days and MUFC have said they will investigate those perpetrated these actions against Pogba, and take strong punitive action, should their findings mandate it
“Everyone at Manchester United is disgusted by the racial abuse aimed at Paul Pogba and we utterly condemn it,” reads a statement issued by the club.
“The individuals who expressed these views do not represent the values of our great club and it is encouraging to see the vast majority of our fans condemn this on social media also.”
“Manchester United has zero tolerance of any form of racism or discrimination and a long-standing commitment to campaigning against it through our #AllRedAllEqual initiative.
“We will work to identify the few involved in these incidents and take the strongest course of action available to us. We also encourage social media companies to take action in these cases.”
Manchester United has zero tolerance of any form of racism or discrimination. #allredallequal pic.twitter.com/neapEz2FFa
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) August 20, 2019
United central defender and summer transfer window addition Harry Maguire also called out the racist trolling on Twitter, and he also offered a potential solution.
That’s a great idea expressed by the Englishman, and if implemented, it would certainly reduce the keyboard tough guys by a very significant margin.
Disgusting. Social media need to do something about it… Every account that is opened should be verified by a passport/driving licence. Stop these pathetic trolls making numerous accounts to abuse people. @Twitter @instagram https://t.co/bzow073aTw
— Harry Maguire (@HarryMaguire93) August 20, 2019
We here at The Sports Bank echo the sentiments expressed by MUFC, Marcus Rashford and Harry Maguire. This racist trolling on social media has just got to stop!
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly appears on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
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