Paul Pogba took to Twitter to address the racist abuse he has received early in the 2019-2020 Premier League season. The Frenchman said that the derogatory comments are a sign of ignorance and that it will only make him stronger.
My ancestors and my parents suffered for my generation to be free today, to work, to take the bus, to play football. Racist insults are ignorance and can only make me stronger and motivate me to fight for the next generation. pic.twitter.com/J9IqyWQj4K — Paul Pogba (@paulpogba) August 25, 2019
After missing a penalty in a 1-1 draw versus Wolverhampton Wanderers in the second week of the season, Pogba became a target of abuse. His teammate Marcus Rashford experienced the same thing after losing against Crystal Palace after missing a penalty.
In an article by The Times, the author said that Twitter is already monitoring several accounts of high-profile black players in order to stop abuse, which had been increasingly happening lately to several players. Reading's Yakou Meite had also been targeted by online trolls, as well as Chelsea forward Tammy Abraham also for missing a penalty.
Manchester United are reportedly meeting Facebook representatives to discuss the racial abuse coming from users of the platform, particularly aiming at Pogba and Rashford. Rashford was the topic of unpleasant comments over the weekend, while Pogba found himself under abuse and scrutiny on Monday.
The English club is set to meet Twitter representatives as well, which have now decided discussions with Facebook due to the many racist comments aimed at players. United have recognized the problem, who noted that although the issue is happening more on Twitter than on Facebook, they will remain proactive to stop social media from becoming the platform of racism. Ole Gunnar Solskjær is reportedly "lost for words" in the wake of the abuse.
Pogba spoke out against the unacceptable behavior and vowed to fight against racism "for the next generation." The online abuse has also prompted campaigners like Kick It Out to rise up to raise awareness regarding the issue.
"The vile racist abuse on social media continued today. This problem will not go away and needs decisive action - that's what we'll be making clear to Twitter when we meet," a statement from Kick It Out read. "Without immediate and the strongest possible action, these cowardly acts will continue to grow."
So far, Pogba has begun all three of United's Premier League outings, scoring two assists in the 4-0 victory against Chelsea. He became the subject of online trolls after making a costly mistake in the 2-1 loss to Palace in which he lost the ball in a critical area.
United will visit Southampton on Saturday in their final match before the international break.
