Kyle Walker shares 'vile' racist message he received after Manchester City defeat to Juventus
Today at 10:47 AM
Kyle Walker has called on social media bosses to clamp down on racist abuse after revealing a sickening message he received following Manchester City’s 2-0 defeat to Juventus in the Champions League.
Th 34-year-old defender played the full 90 minutes as Pep Guardiola’s side were consigned to a seventh loss in ten games in Turin on Wednesday night.
The result further damaged City’s hopes of qualifying for the knockout phase of Europe’s premier competition, with the Premier League champions languishing down in 22nd place in the table.
A day on from the match, Walker took to Instagram to share a message he had been sent in the early hours, in which he was called a ‘stupid ass n****’.
The veteran England international indicated that it was one of a number of ‘vile’ messages that he had received in the aftermath of the match.
Alongside a screenshot of the remark, Walker wrote: ‘No one should ever be subject to the sort of vile, racist and threatening abuse I have received online since last night’s match.
‘@instagram and the authorities need to stop this happening for the sake of all who are suffering this abuse. It is never acceptable.
‘To our fans, we will continue to work as a team to do better, to improve, and turn the corner together.’
A statement on City’s official website said the club would not accept ‘discrimination of any kind’ and Walker would be given their ‘full support’.
‘Manchester City strongly condemns the racist abuse that Kyle Walker was subject to online following last night's fixture,’ the statement read.
‘We refuse to tolerate discrimination of any kind, regardless of whether that be in stadiums or online.
‘We will be offering Kyle our full support following the disgusting treatment he has received.’
More to follow.
