Saints hit out at racist abuse

POLICE are investigating a string of racist messages sent to Southampton defender Kyle Walker-Peters. Southampton reported the vile abuse that appeared under one of Walker-Peters’ Instagram posts following Sunday’s 0-0 draw at Manchester United, and hit out at social media firms ‘who allow such hatred to breed and fester’.

Some of the messages remained on Walker-Peters’s post yesterday though Meta, who own Instagram, insisted ‘a number’ had been deleted and vowed to continue to take action against any comments that break their rules.

It is unclear, though, why those that still appeared were not taken down. In 2021 Southampton midfielder Alex Jankewitz was racially abused after he was sent off at Old Trafford.

In a statement, the club said: ‘More than two years on, we find ourselves in the exact same position: disgusted and disappointed in the behaviour of those online who lower themselves to abusing players for the colour of their skin. ‘We can only hope that they (social media platforms) finally pay attention to what continues to be a major problem.’