Newcastle United have contacted the police after midfielder Joe Willock was the subject of “disgusting” racial abuse and “deeply disturbing threats” on social media.
Willock was targeted by an anonymous Instagram account following his side’s 2-0 win against Crystal Palace on Sunday.
The substitute missed a chance to score late on at St James’ Park, and went on to post a screengrab highlighting the series of abhorrent private messages he received from a social media user after the game.
“We are disgusted by racist abuse received by Joe Willock on Instagram on Sunday evening,” the club said.
“Following our win over Crystal Palace, Joe received several direct messages from an Instagram account that included racial slurs and deeply disturbing threats of violence towards Joe and his family.”
In response, to the messages, Willock wrote: “I pray you and your family find God. And may him have mercy on you.”
It is the second time in less than a year that Willock has highlighted the racist messages he has received on Instagram.
Newcastle previously contacted the police after Willock was targeted on the social media platform following a 2-1 defeat against Fulham last February.
The club said removing content and applying message filters was not enough, and have called on social media companies to do more to “protect users and support the prosecution of those who seek to break the law on their platforms”.
“Sadly, Joe has faced this before,” the club said. “Each time, we have acted quickly to support him and that has been our immediate priority again.
“We have swiftly reported this matter to the police and we will fully support any investigation to identify the person responsible and hold them accountable, wherever they are.
“This can only happen with meaningful action from Meta, Instagram’s owners. We urge Meta to give the police all the information they need to identify the perpetrator, and to do so quickly.”
Northumbria Police confirmed an investigation had been launched, with the force working alongside the UK Football Policing Unit.
“We condemn all forms of discrimination – it has no place in society and our communities,” a spokesperson said.
Richard Offiong, the campaign co-ordinator for Show Racism the Red Card, the UK’s leading anti-racism educational charity, found it “distressing” to see Willock receive “abhorrent abuse” on multiple occasions.
The former Newcastle academy player said the incident highlighted the “urgent need” for social media companies to do “far more” to prevent racist abuse on their platforms.
“Stronger measures are needed to identify perpetrators quickly, remove harmful content, and ensure those responsible face real consequences,” he said.
“Education, accountability and robust enforcement must go hand in hand if we are serious about tackling racism.”
A spokesman for anti-discrimination charity Kick It Out was also “disgusted to hear of the vile racism” directed towards Willock.
“We stand alongside him in his determination to call out this behaviour,” he added. “But it needs to be met with action from those who can prevent it.
“We have seen a surge in online abuse being reported to us this season, and there is no sign of it slowing down.
“Offenders must be held accountable, and social media companies must work harder to provide better protections for their users. As this abuse shows, current safeguards are not fit for purpose.”
Meta is understood to be in direct contact with the club and stressed “no-one should be subjected to racist abuse”.
“Sending messages like this is against our rules,” a spokesperson for the American multinational technology company said.
“DMs [direct messages] are a private messaging service, which means we can’t review or take action on a message unless the person who received the abusive DM reports it to us in-app.
“No one thing will stop this behaviour overnight, but we will be taking appropriate action and will work to help protect our community from abuse and support police investigations.”