Manchester United ‘disgusted’ by racist abuse of Axel Tuanzebe as defender targeted by ‘mindless idiots’

Manchester United say they are “disgusted” by the racist abuse aimed at defender Axel Tuanzebe on social media, calling the perpetrators “mindless idiots”.

Tuanzebe was targeted following a mistake in Wednesday night’s Premier League defeat against Sheffield United.

United legend Rio Ferdinand shared screenshots of the sickening abuse on Twitter and called it a “disgrace”, while the United statement urged social media companies to do more to prevent such behaviour.

The statement read: “Everyone at Manchester United is disgusted by the racial abuse received by players via social media after last night’s game.

‘“We utterly condemn it and it is encouraging to see other fans condemn this on social media also.’

‘“Manchester United has zero tolerance of any form of racism or discrimination and a long-standing commitment to campaigning against it through our All Red All Equal initiative.

"Identifying these anonymous mindless idiots remains problematic. We urge social media platforms and regulatory authorities to strengthen measures to prevent this kind of behaviour.”

United captain Harry Maguire and defender Brandon Williams were among those to share messages of solidarity.

Sanjay Bhandari, chair of anti-racism group Kick It Out, said: "We are disappointed that players are continuing to be subject to racist abuse on their social platforms, it is completely unacceptable.

"We will continue to work with the football authorities, law enforcement and social media companies to try and rid football of hateful and discriminatory behaviour.

"As we have said before, online hate must have real-life consequences, so people don't continue to spread hate as freely as they wish. The individuals responsible for this abuse will hopefully be identified by the social media platforms and swiftly removed.

"We know that discriminatory abuse can have a significant real-world impact on the welfare of the victims. We encourage the players to get such support from their club in the first instance, and support is also available from the PFA and Kick It Out."