Prince William condemns racism after online abuse of Black footballers

Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge, has broken his silence on the recent avalanche of abuse that Black footballers were subjected to on social media.

The British royal took to his Kensington Royal Twitter account on Sunday to condemn the online racism against the players of colour and noted that the social media platform should also take strong actions to prevent it. "Racist abuse – whether on the pitch, in the stands, or on social media – is despicable and it must stop now," William tweeted.

The 39-year-old, who is also the President of the Football Association, the governing body of English football, further spoke about the need for a culture where racism is not accepted. He wrote: "We all have a responsibility to create an environment where such abuse is not tolerated, and those who choose to spread hate and division are held accountable for their actions. That responsibility extends to the platforms where so much of this activity now takes place."

"I commend all those players, supporters, clubs and organisations who continue to call out and condemn this abuse in the strongest terms," the Duke wrote, signing off the Twitter thread with "W."

A number of black footballers, including England striker Marcus Rashford, Chelsea defender Reece James, West Brom's Romaine Sawyers, and the Manchester United duo Axel Tuanzebe and Anthony Martial, were targeted with racial abuse during the last week. Greater Manchester police announced on Sunday that they have launched an investigation into the online abuse these players were subjected to between January 27 to January 30, reports The Guardian.

"Nobody should be subject to such abuse and it is deeply upsetting not only to those who suffer it, but to all those who come across this awful language too. These hateful words have no place anywhere in our society whether online or otherwise. A number of these comments have been reported to us and we are liaising with those involved to provide support and we will be investigating these crimes thoroughly," a GMP spokesperson said.

The Football Association has also pledged to work with ministers and social media companies in eradicating racism from the sport.