After a week where discussion was centered around Racism following the Champions League incident, perpetrators took it to different level in the Premier League weekend as four players were subjected to online abuse.
Four Premier League stars targeted in racial abuse
Wesley Fofana was the first to report racial abuse this weekend, following his red card in Chelsea home draw against Burnley, which saw them miss the chance to close the gap on third place Aston Villa.
The Frenchman was shown a second yellow card for a bad tackle on James Ward-Prowse 18 minutes from time, reducing Chelsea to 10 men and influencing the visitors’ comeback to earn a point with Zian Flemming’s late header.
Fofana took to IG to share the message of discrimination received, adding, “2026, it’s still the same thing, Nothing changes. These people are never punished. You create big campaigns against Racism, but nobody actually does anything”.
Moments later, Hannibal Mejbri, who also featured in the same match for Burnley, shared racial message sent to him by some online users.
Later on Sunday, Nigerian striker Tolu Arokodare saw his first-half penalty to give Wolves the lead against Crystal Palace saved by goalkeeper Dean Henderson, and the visitors would go on to concede a late winner and lost the game.
After the match, the big striker shared a message after being targeted by racists, “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.”
Another player, Sunderland’s Romaine Mundle, was forced to take down his Instagram handle after being subjected to racial abuse for the second time in 12 months.
The 22-year-old came on before halftime to replace the injured Jocelin Ta Bi in a 3-1 home loss to Fulham, but missed a huge chance to open the scoring seven minutes after the restart, only for the visitors to take the lead than two minutes later.
Clubs condemned racism in solidarity with players
All four clubs involved have released official statements, condemning the act and stating solidarity for their players. A message from Sunderland reads: “Sunderland AFC is appalled by the vile online racist abuse directed at Romaine Mundle following today’s Premier League fixture against Fulham.
The abhorrent behaviour displayed by multiple individuals is unacceptable and will not be tolerated by the Club under any circumstances.
There is no place for racism in our society, and we stand with Romaine, who has our full support.The Club is actively working with the relevant authorities and online platforms to identify those responsible, and we will take the strongest possible action available to us.
These individuals do not represent Sunderland AFC, our values, or our community – and they are not welcome on Wearside.”
In solidarity with Wesley Fofana, who will now miss the game against Arsenal on Sunday, Chelsea wrote: “Chelsea Football Club is appalled and disgusted by vile online racist abuse directed at Wesley Fofana.
The targeted racist abuse Wes has been subjected to following today’s Premier League fixture against Burnley is abhorrent and will not be tolerated.Such behaviour is completely unacceptable and runs counter to the values of the game and everything we stand for as a club. There is no room for racism.
We stand unequivocally with Wes. He has our full support, as do all our players who are too often forced to endure this hatred simply for doing their job. We will work with the relevant authorities and platforms in identifying the perpetrators and take the strongest possible action.”
It has been a difficult week for football, but it does highlight that stakeholders still have a long way to go in combating racism, because it’s fair to say nothing has worked so far, and maybe, they need to try a different approach.
Kehinde-Hassan Afolabi
