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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Alex Richards

Racist slurs aimed at Paul Pogba prove online abuse is "out of control" say Kick It Out

Kick It Out have declared that online discriminatory abuse is “out of control” following the racist slurs directed at Paul Pogba on Monday night.

And the anti-racism body have warned Twitter and Instagram that “these cowardly acts will continue to grow” without “the “strongest possible action”.

The Manchester United midfielder was subjected to racial slurs on social media after missing a penalty in his side’s 1-1 draw with Wolves.

United released a statement on Tuesday morning declaring themselves “disgusted” and vowing to “take the strongest course of action available to us.”

Pogba has been abused online following his penalty miss (PETER POWELL/EPA-EFE/REX)

A number of United stars, including Harry Maguire, Marcus Rashford and Chris Smalling have all condemned the incident, while calling on social media companies to take strong, definitive action.

The abuse of Pogba is the third high-profile incident in English football in the space of five days.

Chelsea's Tammy Abraham received a number of racial taunts on Twitter following his penalty miss in their Super Cup loss to Liverpool last Wednesday.

And Reading striker Yakou Meite also called out racist abuse following his side's 3-0 win over Cardiff City in the Championship after he also missed a penalty, posting a screenshot of the abuse he had received along with the caption: "I don't think I need to speak."

Reading's Yakou Meite was similarly abused after his own penalty miss (Alex Davidson)

Kick It Out stated: “The latest round of fixtures have again seen unwarranted and vile racist abuse sent to players.

“This time, Reading’s Yakou Meite and Manchester United’s Paul Pogba.

“The number of posts such as these since the start of the season further highlights how discriminatory abuse online is out of control.

“Without immediate and the strongest possible action these cowardly acts will continue to grow.

“As always we have contacted the respective clubs to offer support to those affected.”

Kick It Out criticised Twitter following the slurs aimed at Abraham on the social media platform last week.

However, Twitter insisted: "We continue to take action on any account that violates the Twitter Rules.

"We welcome people to freely express themselves on our service, however, as outlined in our Hateful Conduct Policy, users cannot promote violence against, threaten or harass other people on the basis of race, ethnicity or other protected groups.

"We remain deeply committed to improving the health of the conversation on the service and in that respect we continue to prioritise the safety of our users."

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