United condemn online racist abuse of Tuanzebe and Martial
Manchester United have condemned the "mindless idiots" who racially abused Axel Tuanzebe and Anthony Martial on social media and have called for stronger measures "to prevent this kind of behaviour".
United fell to a shock 2-1 loss to the Premier League's bottom side Sheffield United at
Old Trafford on Wednesday. That defeat sparked a torrent of online abuse aimed at United's players, including racist abuse aimed at defender Tuanzebe, who inadvertently turned home Oliver Burke's winner, and forward Martial.
Racist terms and monkey emojis were put on Instagram comments of the pair's most recent posts.
United said in a club statement: "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."
United and Scotland midfielder Scott Mctominay posted a photo of Tuanzebe with a crown on his head alongside a heart emoji as well as black and white fists, saying: "My brother - disgusted with what I have read this morning."