Vile emojis sent to players after Euro final defeat
RACISTS sent monkey emojis to Manchester City stars Raheem Sterling and Kyle Walker after their Champions League final defeat.
The England duo were targeted on Instagram on Saturday as the outcry over the twisted abuse continues.
A spokesman for Facebook – which owns Instagram – said the racist abuse sent to Sterling and Walker was “abhorrent”. He said: “We don’t want it on Instagram.
“We swiftly removed a number of comments and accounts for breaking our rules and we’re continuing to review and take action against those that violate our policies.”
Sterling, 26, a campaigner against racism in football, has been targeted by trolls several times this season.
Earlier this month he was sent vile messages just hours after Premier League clubs had taken part in a 48hour boycott of social media platforms in protest at the slurs.
Walker, 31, said he had received sickening messages after City won the Carabao Cup last month.
He posted a screenshot and asked Instagram: “When is this going to stop?!”
Their England teammate Marcus Rashford received 70 race-hate messages following Manchester United’s Europa League final defeat on Wednesday.
Police said the abuse had come from “countries across the world”. The 23-year-old striker said he was outraged that one racist – who sent a “mountain of monkey emojis” – was a maths teacher.
The Facebook spokesman added: “We have built safety features, including comment filters and message controls, which can meaningfully decrease the abuse people experience.
“No single thing will fix this challenge overnight, but we’re committed to doing what we can to keep our community safe from abuse.”