Manchester United have urged social media sites to eradicate abuse posted by 'anonymous mindless idiots' after Axel Tuanzebe and Anthony Martial were subjected to racial abuse.
Racist users targeted Tuanzebe and Martial on Instagram following their performances in United's 2-1 home defeat to Sheffield United by posting comments on the photos the players had uploaded.
Martial played the full duration and Tuanzebe was substituted after 83 minutes in what was his first Premier League start since October 2019.
United have responded by calling on social media platforms to 'strengthen measures to prevent this kind of behaviour'.
In a statement, United said: "Everyone at Manchester United is disgusted by the racial abuse received by players via social media after last night’s game.
"We utterly condemn it and it is encouraging to see other 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 All Red All Equal initiative.
"Identifying these anonymous mindless idiots remains problematic. We urge social media platforms and regulatory authorities to strengthen measures to prevent this kind of behaviour."
Scott McTominay expressed his support for Tuanzebe, a teammate since their days in the youth team, on Instagram. "My brother. Disgusted with what I have read this morning," McTominay wrote.
United captain Harry Maguire also wrote on the platform: "UNITED against racism. We will not tolerate it." Brandon Williams uploaded a '#Notoracism' post on Twitter.
