Troy takes a stand after vile racist abuse online

WATforD captain Troy Deeney received racist abuse on social media after Sunday’s fA Cup semifinal triumph over Wolves.

Deeney blamed ‘small-minded people’ for vile racist comments on the celebratory pictures he posted on Instagram. Abuse was also aimed at the 30-year-old’s family.

Deeney (right) posted a picture of the words ‘No room for racism’ and said: ‘Due to events from the last 24 hours I will be taking comments off my posts.

‘To me, this isn’t a game. When you racially abuse my family or myself I have to take measures to prevent young people seeing these comments and thinking that it’s acceptable, and having to expose people I care about to these small-minded people.’

Meanwhile, Gerard Deulofeu’s supersub intervention at Wembley might not be enough to secure him a place back in the Spain squad, but if he turns over his former coach Pep Guardiola and Manchester City in the final it might be a different story. Deulofeu has always been able to get spectators off their seats and as his coach at Barcelona Guardiola gave the winger his debut aged 17. others with less faith in his ability decided he did not have a future in Catalonia and Deulofeu has been a wanderer ever since. The 25-yearold has had short spells at Sevilla, Milan, Everton and now Watford, but he was once the sensation of Barca’s youth academy and destined to share the Camp Nou with lionel Messi. on May 18 he has the chance to ruin Guardiola’s day and knock on the door of another man who knows him well from Barcelona, Spain coach luis Enrique. There is another Spain squad to be picked in June that he might just make. He is the Under 21s’ all-time top scorer and made his senior debut in 2014. ‘I would love to go back,’ Deulofeu said before the semi-final. ‘That’s what I’m working hard to achieve.’