Paul Pogba says he is determined to “fight” against racism
Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba has responded to the racist abuse which he has suffered in recent weeks, insisting each insult only makes him more determined to continue to fight.
After missing a penalty in the 1-1 draw with Wolverhampton Wanderers, Pogba was targeted by vile abuse on Twitter – something which Marcus Rashford, Tammy Abraham and Yakou Meite have all also been forced to deal with in recent weeks.
Now, Pogba has taken to Twitter to stand up against the racists, posting a message of defiance in front of portraits of both his late father Fassou Antoine and legendary civil rights activist Martin Luther King.
He wrote: “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.”
Both United and Chelsea are keen to meet with Twitter executives to discuss how to protect users of the social media platform, but a lawyer has even claimed that Pogba may need to sue Twitter to try and encourage drastic changes.
A Twitter spokesman told Sky Sports News: “Over the next few weeks, Twitter representatives will meet with Manchester United, Kick It Out and any other civil society stakeholders interested in hearing about the proactive work Twitter is doing to address online racist abuse towards certain footballers in the UK.”
However, until drastic changes can be seen, Phil Neville has called for players to boycott social media, in an attempt to prove to the various platforms that more must be done to help protect users.
Rashford became the latest high-profile player to be targeted by the abuse following his penalty miss in the 2-1 defeat to Crystal Palace on Saturday.
The defeat saw United fall to their first defeat of the season, and they now have a total of four points from their opening three games, which leaves them five points behind Premier League leaders Liverpool.