Rhian Brewster shares racist message he received from a user on Instagram; Sheffield United offer their support to the player, praising him for highlighting yet more abuse; a host of professional footballers have been subjected to messages on social media in recent months
Friday 19 March 2021 17:59, UK
Sheffield United have praised Rhian Brewster for highlighting racist abuse on social media after the striker became the latest player to be targeted.
Brewster shared the message he received on Instagram, with his club issuing their backing on Friday.
Instagram told Sky Sports News the racist message sent directly to Brewster has not been reported through their "in-app" tools, so they are unable to take any action at this stage.
The social media company has reached out to the striker's representatives to let them know how to report it officially.
"As a club we applaud Rhian for bringing this disgusting message to light," a Sheffield United statement read. "We will now support him and work with him, the Premier League and all the relevant authorities to ensure the person behind this post is brought to justice."
Instagram previously reiterated that they are prepared to enforce tougher penalties on those who contravene their community standards by posting abusive messages.
Brewster is just one of a number of recent examples of footballers being targeted by racists. After Rangers' exit from the Europa League on Thursday night, Kemar Roofe was targeted on social media, while Crystal Palace's Patrick van Aanholt was sent similar messages on Instagram.
In February, Chelsea's Antonio Rudiger and Reece James, Manchester United Women's Lauren James and Manchester United's Axel Tuanzebe were among those to have been subjected to abuse on social media platforms.
Instagram will impose stricter penalties including the removal of accounts to prevent abusive messages on its platform, following recent racist abuse directed towards footballers.
Manchester United said they were "disgusted" with the comments towards their players on social media and released a joint statement with Everton, Liverpool and Manchester City condemning the abuse endured by multiple professional footballers in recent weeks and months.
The government has said it will change the law to make social media companies more accountable for malicious content.
Facebook, which owns Instagram, says abuse via 'direct messages' has been more difficult to police than public posts.
In a statement released on Instagram, the platform said it will now be removing the accounts of people who send abusive messages, and developing new controls to help reduce the abuse people see.
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