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Rashford played in Manchester United’s 0-0 draw against Arsenal on Saturday
Greater Manchester Police launched an investigation after receiving reports of social media abuse targeting Manchester United players last week.
Marcus Rashford was the last player subjected to racial abuse, following similar treatment to his teammates Axel Tuanzebe and Anthony Martial.
“We have been informed of several of these comments and we are in contact with those involved to provide support and we will investigate these crimes thoroughly,” said a GMP statement.
Rashford described the abuse as “humanity and social media at its worst.”
The 22-year-old, who received an MBE for his work fighting child food poverty, received multiple racist messages on Instagram on Saturday.
They were sent to the England forward after United’s 0-0 draw with Arsenal.
“I am a black man and I live every day proud to be one,” he said on Twitterexternal-link.
“No one, or no comment, will make me feel different. Sorry if you were looking for a strong reaction, you just won’t get it here.
“I am not sharing screenshots. It would be irresponsible to do so and as you can imagine, there is nothing original about them.
“I have beautiful children of all colors following me and they don’t need to read it. Beautiful colors that should just be celebrated.”
‘Social media companies are not vigilant enough’: Wright and Jenas react after Rashford is subjected to racist abuse
GMP said it was aware that several Manchester United players had suffered abuse on social media between Wednesday and Saturday.
He added: “No one should be subjected to such abuse and it is deeply upsetting not only to those who suffer it, but also to all who come across this terrible language.”
“These hateful words have no place in any part of our society, whether online or otherwise.”
Facebook, which owns Instagram, also issued a statement after Rashford’s abuse. It read: “We have taken action in this case by deleting accounts and comments and we are continuing to investigate.”
In the Match of the Day, former Arsenal and England striker Ian Wright said authorities and social media companies must do more to identify the perpetrators.
He said: “It seems to be a fact that if a black player plays bad, or thinks he did, he comes with all the emojis and whatever. There are ways that people can be caught. They’re not vigilant enough, nowhere near .
“It should be something they are doing hand in hand [authorities and social media sites]. But how much do they care deep down? “
Former Tottenham, Newcastle and England midfielder Jermaine Jenas added: “Platforms, I need you to show me these people and say that they are doing everything they can to do justice. For those who ask why we are still on our knees, come on.”
The Football Association had reiterated its commitment to clamp down on discrimination of all kinds early Saturday.
“We are united with all of football in our abhorrence of any racist abuse,” read a statement from the FA. “This is not acceptable in any part of society.
“We will continue to work with the rest of the game, government and social media platforms to remove this, and all elements of discrimination from our sport.”
On Friday, Chelsea said they were “disgusted” after right-back Reece James was racially abused on social media.
On Saturday, a man was arrested after a racist message was sent to West Brom midfielder Romaine Sawyers.
Tuanzebe and Martial were racially abused on social media after Manchester United’s loss to Sheffield United on Wednesday.
On Monday, the UK government held talks with current and former footballers on how to tackle discrimination and abuse.
On Friday, a Facebook spokesperson said: “There is no place for racism on Instagram and we are committed to eliminating it when we find it. We know there is more to do and we will continue to work closely with clubs, players and football authorities.” to investigate cases of discrimination and collectively address this problem. “
Twitter said in a statement: “Racist behavior has no place on our service and when we identify accounts that violate any of the Twitter Rules, we take enforcement action.
“We have been proactively engaged and continue to collaborate with our valued partners in soccer to identify ways to collectively address this issue and we will continue to play our role in curbing this unacceptable behavior, both online and offline.”
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Source: bbc.com
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