WALES CALL COPS OVER RACIST TROLLING OF STARS
POLICE are investigating the source of racist abuse sent to Wales players Rabbi Matondo and Ben Cabango after Saturday’s friendly against Mexico. The pair highlighted messages they were sent on Instagram after the 1-0 win and the Football Association of Wales are in talks with South Wales Police. Rob Page, who is in charge of the team in the absence of Ryan Giggs, and his staff spoke to both players first thing yesterday morning. An FAW spokesman said: ‘We are in dialogue with South Wales Police to ensure this kind of abhorrent behaviour is reported and investigated.
‘The FAW joins with other national associations and clubs in urging social media platforms and regulatory authorities to take stronger, more effective and urgent action against this despicable behaviour.’ The abuse directed at Matondo and Cabango is the latest example of a growing trend of footballers being targeted on social media and Wales have now added their voice to the pressure on social media companies to take stronger action. ‘We have removed the accounts that sent these messages to Ben Cabango and Rabbi Matondo this weekend,’ said a spokesman for Facebook, which owns Instagram. ‘We are working with the industry, government and others to collectively drive societal change through action and education.’ Cabango and Matondo were said to have trained as scheduled yesterday after talks with boss Page. Detective chief inspector Lloyd Williams, of South Wales Police, said: ‘Confronting hate crime is a challenge for everyone in South Wales — not just for the police — and we all have a responsibility to challenge prejudice and insist that our communities live up to the best standards of our traditions of tolerance and solidarity.’ In exposing the abuse, Matondo took a swipe at social media companies, tweeting that they are doing ‘absolutely nothing about racial abuse’. Tony Burnett, Kick It Out’s chief executive, said: ‘We have to make sure we create an environment where online abuse is punished and that the perpetrators are identified as often as possible. But there is also a bigger issue here, which is societal behaviour. ‘Social media has become a vehicle for inappropriate behaviour on a societal level and certain people think it’s OK to send abusive messages. ‘We can’t resolve this alone and we are working with football’s stakeholders to try to eradicate online hate. There isn’t a simple solution, but we need a united voice that says this is wrong. ‘We’ll continue to put pressure on social media companies to take action.’