Greater Manchester Police have confirmed they have launched an investigation after several Manchester United players were targeted by racist abuse on social media in recent days.

Defender Axel Tuanzebe and striker Anthony Martial both found themselves facing a flurry of horrific abuse in the aftermath of the 2-1 defeat at the hands of Sheffield United, and Marcus Rashford became the latest to be targeted after the 0-0 draw with Arsenal.

„We are aware of a number of Manchester United football players suffering abuse on social media accounts between Wednesday 27 January and Saturday 30 January 2021,“ a statement from GMP read on Twitter.

„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.

„A number of these comments have been reported to us and we are liaising with those involved to procide support and we will be investigating these crimes thoroughly.“

Humanity and social media at its worst. Yes I’m a black man and I live every day proud that I am. 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 ??

— Marcus Rashford MBE (@MarcusRashford) January 30, 2021

Rashford described the abuse directed towards him as ‚humanity and social media at its worst‘, warning those responsible that his pride towards the colour of his skin would never be broken by some so-called fans online.

On the abuse directed towards Rashford, a spokesperson for Facebook told the BBC: „There is no place for racism on Instagram and we are committed to removing it when we find it.

We all have a part to play in making this world a better & more equal place! Racism is completely unacceptable! Human is our only race! @instagram @Twitter @Facebook you must do more!! #notoracism

— Reece James (@reecejames_24) January 30, 2021

„We know there is more to do and we will continue to work closely with clubs, players and football authorities to investigate instances of discrimination and collectively tackle this issue.“

Racism is football continues to be a real plague, but there has been a disturbing spike in cases again recently. Alongside the United trio, Chelsea’s Antonio Rudiger and Reece James have both been targeted, while West Brom reported abuse of Romaine Sawyers to the police as well.

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