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What's the story?
Manchester United have released a statement condemning the racial abuse received by Paul Pogba on social media after he missed a penalty during their game against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Monday.
In case you didn't know...
The Red Devils went head-to-head with Wolves in the Premier League on Monday in a game that saw them held to a 1-1 draw at the Molineux.
Anthony Martial gave the visitors the lead with a splendid left-footed finish that marked his 50th goal for the Manchester giants. However, Ruben Neves leveled the score line with a phenomenal strike from the edge of the 18-yard box just ten minutes after the break.
Pogba, who was heavily linked with an exit from Old Trafford this summer, was given the opportunity to finally establish a win over Nuno Espírito Santo's men upon being fouled by Conor Coady.
The Frenchman stepped up to take the penalty but his powerful shot was thwarted by Rui Patricio. The midfielder had already missed three penalties for the club last season.
Following the miss, the World Cup winner was heavily criticized and mocked on social media, but things turned ugly when a section of people began racially abusing him.
The abuse highlights what is now becoming a common occurrence in football, with players such as Yakou Meite and Tammy Abraham also being subjected to race-fueled abuse over the last week or so.
The heart of the matter
Manchester United have issued a stern condemnation of the racial abuse in a statement released today. The statement read (via Sky Sports), "Everyone at Manchester United is disgusted by the racial abuse aimed at Paul Pogba last night and we utterly condemn it."
"The individuals who expressed these views do not represent the values of our great club and it is encouraging to see the vast majority of our fans condemn this on social media also."
"Manchester United has zero tolerance of any form of racism or discrimination and a long-standing commitment to campaigning against it through our #AllRedAllEqual initiative."
"We will work to identify the few involved in these incidents and take the strongest course of action available to us. We also encourage social media companies to take action in these cases."
Marcus Rashford too, echoed similar sentiments by tweeting:
"Enough now, this needs to stop Twitter. Manchester United is a family. @paulpogba is a huge part of that family. You attack him you attack us all..."
What's next?
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has defended Pogba amid the criticism by stating that together with Rashford, the midfielder is a designated penalty-taker for the team.
Manchester United will next host Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Saturday.
