Raheem Sterling was racially abused on Instagram less than 48 hours after the end of the football social media boycott | UK News

Raheem Sterling was the victim of racist abuse online less than 48 hours after the social media boycott of football ended.

The abuse on Instagram was reported after his club, Manchester City, reached their first Champions League final on Tuesday night.

“Racist abuses sent to Raheem sterling is unacceptable and we don’t want it on Instagram, ”said a statement from Facebook, owner of Instagram.

“We have removed the comment and taken action against the account that posted it.

“As part of our ongoing work in this space, we will soon be rolling out new tools to help prevent people from seeing abusive messages from strangers.

“No solution will solve this challenge overnight, but we are committed to doing what we can to protect our community from abuse.”

Sterling is one of the many players who have received racist messages online in the past.

English football hosted a four day silence to protest online abuse and discrimination, and what some are saying is the lack of tough action from social media companies.

The clubs have deactivated their Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts, with the boycott ending Monday evening.

Rabbi Matondo, on loan to Stoke, has also been abused in recent days, and tweeted: “Good to see the boycott didn’t change anything @instagram”.

A spokesperson for Stoke said: “The club are aware of the disgusting racial abuse Rabbi Matondo received on social media overnight and will do everything possible to help authorities bring the perpetrator to justice.

“We will not tolerate behavior of this nature – there is no place for it in society and we will report the offending position in accordance with the agreed procedure the EFL has in place.”

Swansea City players were also the target of abuse during the boycott itself, with police investigating the source.

A study by the Association of Professional Footballers, published last October, …