New Castle have contacted the police after midfielder Joe Willock was the subject of “disgusting” racial abuse and “deeply disturbing threats” on social media.
Willock was targeted by an anonymous Instagram account following his side’s 2-0 win against Crystal Palace on Sunday.
The substitute missed a chance to score late on at St James’ Park, and went on to post a screengrab highlighting the series of abhorrent private messages he received from a social media user after the game.
“We are disgusted by racist abuse received by Joe Willock on Instagram on Sunday evening,” the club said.
“Following our win over Crystal Palace, Joe received several direct messages from an Instagram account that included racial slurs and deeply disturbing threats of violence towards Joe and his family.”
In response, to the messages, Willock wrote: “I pray you and your family find God. And may him have mercy on you.”
It is the second time in less than a year that Willock has highlighted the racist messages he has received on Instagram.
Newcastle previously contacted the police after Willock was targeted on the social media platform following a 2-1 defeat against Fulham last February.
The club said removing content and applying message filters was not enough, and have called on social media companies to do more to “protect users and support the prosecution of those who seek to break the law on their platforms”.
“Sadly, Joe has faced this before,” the club said. “Each time, we have acted quickly to support him and that has been our immediate priority again.
“We have swiftly reported this matter to the police and we will fully support any investigation to identify the person responsible and hold them accountable, wherever they are.
“This can only happen with meaningful action from Meta, Instagram’s owners. We urge Meta to give the police all the information they need to identify the perpetrator, and to do so quickly.”
