Over the weekend, several Premier League footballers became targets of racist online abuse, sparking outrage from the English football league and demands for action from social media platforms.

On Saturday, Chelsea’s defender Wesley Fofana and Burnley’s midfielder Hannibal Mejbri revealed they were subjected to racist messages following their teams’ 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge. Both players shared screenshots of the offensive messages they received privately on Instagram.

The following day, Wolverhampton Wanderers striker Tolu Arokodare also reported receiving racial abuse on Instagram after his team suffered a 1-0 defeat to Crystal Palace. During the match, Arokodare missed a penalty, which seemingly prompted the hateful messages.

Meanwhile, Sunderland’s Romaine Mundle faced similar online racism after coming off the bench in his club’s 3-1 home defeat against Fulham. Sunderland condemned the “vile online racist abuse” in an official statement.

The Premier League, expressing its solidarity with Sunderland and Wolves, strongly denounced the abuse. In a statement on X, the league described the actions as “abhorrent” and “unacceptable.”

“We are committed to holding accountable those responsible and will provide full support to the club and player during the investigations,” the league asserted.

Call for action

Kick it Out, an anti-discrimination group, said the abuse should not be tolerated.

“Words matter, but actions are more important. Football is working together to tackle this issue alongside the UK Football Policing Unit and Ofcom [the UK communications regulator], but social media companies must do more to offer protections to players and help improve accountability when incidents occur,” the group said in a statement.

A spokesperson for Meta, which owns Instagram, told the BBC: “No-one should be subjected to racist abuse, and we remove this content when we find it.”

The incidents came days after the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) started an investigation into claims by Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior that he was racially abused on the field by Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni during a Champions League game in Lisbon.

‘Nothing changes’

Fofana, who was sent off for receiving two yellow cards against Burnley, posted screenshots of messages he had been sent and wrote on Instagram: “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.”

Mejbri wrote on his Instagram story: “It’s 2026 and there are still people like that. Educate yourself and your kids, please.”

Chelsea said in a statement the abuse directed at Fofana was “completely unacceptable and runs counter to the values of the game and everything we stand for as a club”.

“We stand unequivocally with Wes,” the statement read.

“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.”

Burnley said in its statement there was “no place for this in our society and we condemn it unreservedly”.

One of the racist messages sent to Arokodare on Sunday appeared to be from a gambler.

Writing on his Instagram story, Arokodare said: “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.”

Wolves said in a statement that: “There is no place for racism — in football, online, or anywhere in society. We condemn this abhorrent and unlawful behaviour in the strongest possible terms.”

The club “has reported the posts to the relevant platforms and will work with the Premier League and the authorities to help identify those responsible and ensure appropriate action is taken.”

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