Tottenham have condemned an “unacceptable and cowardly act” after their winger Jessica Naz was subjected to online racist abuse on Wednesday. The England international wrote on Instagram that she was “done being quiet” and wanted to address the matter to ensure steps are taken to stop it happening.
The news came shortly after Tottenham’s Subway League Cup victory on penalties against Aston Villa, in the group stages of the competition. Naz started the game and played all of the first half, but was withdrawn at half-time.
“The club is disgusted by the racist abuse received by Jessica Naz via social media,” a Tottenham statement read. “Jess has spoken out against this disgraceful behaviour – and we stand by her in calling out this unacceptable and cowardly act.
“We are working with the appropriate authorities and social media platforms to identify the responsible party, and we will be taking the strongest action against them. There is no place for racism in our sport or anywhere in society. We stand with Jess.”
Naz, who has six England caps, wrote on Instagram: “I was going to wait till after the game to speak because I’m done being quiet. I was subjected to racial abuse in my DMs. Racism in any form is unacceptable and [it] is important to address this behaviour and ensure that steps are taken to prevent it from happening again.”
The game finished 0-0 in normal time, before the hosts Tottenham won 7-6 in a penalty shootout to claim an extra point for the group stage.
There were also wins in the opening group games on Wednesday for Manchester City, Nottingham Forest, Leicester City, London City Lionesses, West Ham, Brighton and Liverpool, while Sheffield United and Birmingham City – like Tottenham – both claimed two points after penalty-shootout victories.
