After screenshots of messages he received were put up on his social media accounts, authorities tracked down the perpetrators and a 12-year-old boy was arrested before being released under investigation
Crystal Palace forward Wilfried Zaha said that he is afraid to open his social media accounts because of the constant racial abuse.
Zaha was a victim of racist abuse earlier this month.
ADVERTISEMENT
After screenshots of messages he received were put up on his social media accounts, authorities tracked down the perpetrators and a 12-year-old boy was arrested before being released under investigation.
"Every time I'm scared to even look up my direct messages because it could be filled with anything," he told CNN.
"For black footballers for instance, being on Instagram is not even fun for us any more. You're not enjoying your profile. I don't even have Twitter on my phone any more because it's almost certain that you're going to get some sort of abuse," he said.
Zaha said that social media companies need to do more to curb the menace.
"I got racially abused after the stuff that I got before and it's like, what happens after that account gets blocked? Then they just make a new one straight after," he said.
"I feel like with everything that we do in life, with everything we register to, we have to give some sort of ID, so why is it not the same with Instagram? Why is it not the same with Twitter?" Zaha added.
Catch up on all the latest sports news and updates here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.
Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news
This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
