Jude Bellingham racially abused on Instagram after Bundesliga draw

Bellingham is the latest player to be targeted by racist comments on social media

Manasi Pathak
Sunday 21 March 2021 14:15 GMT
Comments
Bellingham posted a screenshot of racist comments sent to him on social media
Bellingham posted a screenshot of racist comments sent to him on social media (POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Borussia Dortmund midfielder Jude Bellingham was subjected to racist abuse on Instagram following Saturday’s 2-2 Bundesliga draw at Cologne.

Bellingham shared a screenshot of the racist emojis and derogatory comments about his mother sent to him, with the caption “Just another day on social media...”

Dortmund, Cologne, Bellingham’s former club Birmingham City and the England national team all showed support for the 17-year-old.

“We continue to be disgusted by the discriminatory abuse our players - and others across the game - are being subjected to online,” England tweeted. “Something needs to change.”

Several players in the English Premier League, including Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford, Chelsea’s Reece James and Crystal Palace’s Wilfried Zaha, have been racially abused online in recent months.

The increase in online abuse of players has prompted English soccer bodies to put pressure on social media companies to tackle the problem.

Instagram last month announced measures to deal with online abuse, including removing accounts of people who send abusive messages, and developing new controls to help reduce the abuse people see.

Reuters

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in