Bernd Leno on why he no longer looks at social media: "I had a very bad game and then one guy on social media said to me 'do it like Enke'. That is the reason I don't read it even when everything is good. I don't need that, it doesn't make me better."
Tuesday 16 February 2021 19:01, UK
Bernd Leno says he stopped reading comments on social media after he was once told to copy Robert Enke, the former Germany goalkeeper who died by suicide in 2009.
Former Hannover 96, Benfica, Borussia Monchengladbach and Barcelona goalkeeper Enke's career was affected by depression and he took his own life at the age of 32.
Leno says he no longer looks at social media comments regarding his own performances after once encountering someone online who told him to "do it like Enke" following a bad game while at Bayer Leverkusen.
"Of course I have a lot of experience with that, here and also in Germany. There was one thing that kept in my mind, it was crazy," Leno told Sky Sports News.
"I had a very bad game and then one guy on social media said to me 'do it like Enke'.
"Since I read this I realise that there are so many stupid people on social media. That is the reason I don't read it even when everything is good. I don't need that, it doesn't make me better, it is wasting time.
"There are so many fake people that hide behind their computers to make you feel bad. Many times with racism, abuse to families, I don't like it, I don't read it. It affects your life, what is the point?"
Last Wednesday, Instagram announced it will impose stricter penalties including the removal of accounts to prevent abusive messages on its platform after a number of recent cases of racist abuse in football.
Arsenal season-ticket holders racially abused midfielder Granit Xhaka on Twitter, an investigation has claimed.
Xhaka and other Premier League players were targeted during a month-long study as analysts aim to reveal the 'true life identities' of prolific abusers on social media.
Analysis by Signify, a data science company, has revealed 16 instances of targeted racist abuse towards Xhaka, including posts from accounts who 'self-identify as Arsenal season-ticket holders', in December last year.
Arsenal have told Sky Sports News they take the "strongest possible action" against any abuser that is linked directly to their season ticket or membership database.
The study has also revealed homophobic abuse towards Arsenal's Hector Bellerin.
In response to the report, an Arsenal spokesperson told Sky Sports News: "We all need to work together to drive online abuse out of our game and off our social networks.
"The effect on individuals can be very deep and we work closely with our players and staff to help them deal with the impact. This includes support from sports psychologists and our social media team.
"As a club, one of the biggest challenges we face is identifying the perpetrators and linking them directly to our season ticket or membership databases. When we do have that information, we take the strongest possible action. This includes reporting to the police and membership bans from our club.
"Ultimately we all have to work together to stop the abuse and we fully support the Premier League's recent statement calling on social media platforms to take more action to prevent abuse appearing online, including requiring all users to be subject to a verification process."
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