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Duke of Cambridge: Football Association president calls for racist abuse of footballers to stop

Marcus RashfordGetty Images

Marcus Rashford played in Manchester United's 0-0 draw at Arsenal on Saturday

The Duke of Cambridge has called for racist abuse aimed at footballers to stop, calling it "despicable".

Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford was the latest player subjected to racist abuse this weekend after a series of incidents.

On Sunday, Greater Manchester Police began an investigation into the abuse.

And writing on Twitter, Prince William, who is also the president of the Football Association, praised those who had spoken out.

He said: "Racist abuse - whether on the pitch, in the stands, or on social media - is despicable and it must stop now.

"We all have a responsibility to create an environment where such abuse is not tolerated, and those who choose to spread hate and division are held able for their actions. That responsibility extends to the platforms where so much of this activity now takes place.

"I commend all those players, ers, clubs and organisations who continue to call out and condemn this abuse in the strongest ."

The abuse aimed at Rashford on Saturday followed similar treatment of team-mates Axel Tuanzebe and Anthony Martial.

"A number of these comments have been reported to us and we are liaising with those involved to provide and we will be investigating these crimes thoroughly," said a Greater Manchester Police (GMP) statement.

Rashford described the abuse as "humanity and social media at its worst".

The 23-year-old, who was awarded the MBE for his work fighting child food poverty, received multiple racist messages on Instagram on Saturday.

They were sent to the England striker after United's 0-0 draw with Arsenal.

"I'm a black man and I live every day proud that I am," he said on Twitter.

"No-one, or no one comment, is going to make me feel any different. So sorry if you were looking for a strong reaction, you're just simply not going to get it here.

"I'm not sharing screenshots. It would be irresponsible to do so and as you can imagine there's nothing original in them.

"I have beautiful children of all colours following me and they don't need to read it. Beautiful colours that should only be celebrated."

'Social media companies not vigilant enough' - Wright and Jenas react after Rashford is subject of racist abuse

GMP said they were aware that a number of Manchester United players had suffered abuse on social media between Wednesday and Saturday.

They added: "Nobody should be subject to such abuse and it is deeply upsetting not only to those who suffer it, but to all those who come across this awful language too.

"These hateful words have no place anywhere in our society whether online or otherwise."

Facebook, which owns Instagram, also released a statement after Rashford's abuse. It said: "We have taken action in this case by removing s and comments and are continuing to investigate."

'Be nice and be good humans'

Karen Carney, who won 144 England caps, deleted her Twitter in January following online abuse she received after a tweet by Leeds United questioned her comments as a pundit.

BBC Radio 5 Live pundit Carney, 33, said the abuse sports personalities were receiving was "horrible and brutal".

"If you wouldn't say it to someone's face, don't say it on social media and hide behind a platform," said Carney. "It's really upsetting and we need to do something about it, especially in a pandemic. It's really tough at the moment.

"I would just urge people to be nice and be good humans. The people that receive this, it bothers them and upsets them.

"The people posting on social media would see Marcus Rashford and ask him for a photo. He's a human being and what I love about him is he didn't rise to it.

"Any person that receives abuse, if they say something back [online] they get the abuse 10 times over. We urge the government to do something about it because it's getting beyond a joke. I worry about people's mental health."

Speaking on Match of the Day, former Arsenal and England striker Ian Wright said the authorities and social media companies needed to do more to identify the perpetrators.

He said: "It seems to be a fact if a black player plays poorly - or they think they did - they come with all the emojis and whatever. There are ways of being able to catch people. They're not vigilant enough - nowhere near.

"It should be something they're doing hand in hand [authorities and social media sites]. But how much do they care deep down">