English football is once again confronting an ugly reality after Wolves striker Tolu Arokodare and Sunderland winger Romaine Mundle were subjected to racist abuse on social media over the weekend.
The incidents have intensified concerns across the Premier League, with four players from the top tier publicly revealing they had been targeted within 48 hours. Anti-discrimination charity Kick It Out described it as an “appalling weekend”, reflecting a problem that refuses to fade.
Arokodare received a stream of offensive messages following Wolves’ 1-0 defeat to Crystal Palace. The Nigeria international had endured a frustrating afternoon, seeing a first-half penalty saved before Palace snatched a late winner.
Wolves said they were “disgusted” that the 25-year-old had been abused by “multiple perpetrators” and condemned what they called “abhorrent and unlawful behaviour in the strongest possible terms”.
Posting screenshots of the messages, Arokodare wrote: “It’s still unbelievable to me that we’re playing in a time where people have so much freedom to communicate such racism without any consequences.
“These individuals should have no place in our game and collectively we have to take action to punish everyone who taints the sport like this, no matter who they are.”
The club added: “Tolu has our full and unwavering support. No player should be subjected to such hatred simply for doing their job.
“We stand firmly alongside him, and alongside all footballers who are forced to endure this abuse from anonymous accounts acting with apparent impunity.”
Mundle was also targeted after coming off the bench during Sunderland’s 3-1 home defeat by Fulham. The Wearside club said they were “appalled by the vile” abuse directed at the 22-year-old.
“The abhorrent behaviour displayed by multiple individuals is unacceptable and will not be tolerated by the club under any circumstances,” Sunderland said.
“These individuals do not represent Sunderland AFC, our values, or our community – and they are not welcome on Wearside.”
According to the Sunderland Echo, Mundle has since deleted his Instagram account. It is not the first time he has faced such abuse, having previously shared discriminatory messages sent to him during his time in the Championship.
The weekend’s incidents followed similar reports from Wesley Fofana and Hannibal Mejbri after their sides drew 1-1 at Stamford Bridge. The Premier League said there are “serious consequences for anybody found guilty of discrimination and we will offer our full support with their investigations”, which may include club bans and legal action.
Kick It Out warned that the scale of abuse reported this season has reached record levels. “Players are standing up to discrimination, and we’ve had record reports to Kick It Out from across football this season, but we recognise the frustration in how it continues to fester online,” the organisation said.
“Words matter, but actions are more important. Football is working together to tackle this issue alongside the UK Football Policing Unit and Ofcom, but social media companies must do more to offer protections to players and help improve accountability when incidents occur.
“Those who face this disgusting abuse must always be the priority.”
Responding to earlier cases, a spokesperson for Meta said: “No-one should be subjected to racist abuse, and we remove this content when we find it.
“No one thing will stop racist behaviour overnight, but we’ll continue working to protect our community from abuse and co-operate with police investigations.”