Manchester United duo Axel Tuanzebe and Anthony Martial victims of racism after Sheffield United defeat
In an official statement (h/t Manchester Evening News), Manchester United condemned racism by “idiots” towards Anthony Martial and Axel Tuanzebe after the club’s 2-1 loss to Sheffield United on Wednesday night.
The duo was at the end of the racist abuse after the club succumbed to their first home loss in the league since their 1-0 defeat to Arsenal in November 2020.
The abuse got so out of hand that the 23-year-old had to delete a photo that he had posted on his social media account. This was Tuanzebe’s first league start since 2019. (h/t Metro)
He was subbed off in the 83rd minute, while Martial played the whole 90. In the official statement, the club underlines that such abuse is intolerable, and social media sites must do more to combat such behaviour.
“We utterly condemn it and it is encouraging to see other fans condemn this on social media also.”
Standing United against racists
The club underlines how identifying racists online remains a problem. And they urged popular social media platforms to tighten up their security measures.
“Identifying these anonymous mindless idiots remains problematic. We urge social media platforms and regulatory authorities to strengthen measures to prevent this kind of behaviour.”
Manchester United players, led by captain Harry Maguire, also posted on their social media accounts addressing this issue.
Tuanzebe was not scheduled to start the game, but Ole Gunnar Solskjaer went with him after Eric Bailly succumbed to an injury in training.
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Martial, on the other hand, had a goal disallowed in the match. He was on hand to finish a spill from Aaron Ramsdale, but the referee adjudged Harry Maguire’s preceding challenge on the Blades goalkeeper as a foul.
