Manchester City defender Kyle Walker has spoken out after being subjected to racist abuse online, following the club’s 2-0 Champions League defeat to Juventus on Wednesday night.
Walker played the full 90 minutes in Turin as City suffered their seventh defeat in ten matches, before sharing screenshots of the abusive messages he received on his Instagram account.
Softfootball has learned that the 34-year-old used the platform to call for greater accountability from both social media companies and football authorities.
He wrote:
No-one should ever be subject to the sort of vile, racist and threatening abuse I have received online since last night’s match.
Instagram and the authorities need to stop this happening for the sake of all who are suffering this abuse. It is never acceptable.
Walker also addressed City’s fanbase directly, reaffirming his commitment to helping the team turn their form around. He added:
To our fans, we will continue to work as a team to do better, to improve, and turn the corner together.
This isn’t the first time Walker has spoken out against online abuse, having done so previously back in April 2021, only to face further attacks the following month.
