Junior Stanislas was subjected to racist slurs and insults about his family by an individual on Twitter after scoring Bournemouth's winning goal in the 1-0 Sky Bet Championship victory at Stoke on Saturday night
Wednesday 6 January 2021 09:45, UK
Bournemouth chief executive Neill Blake has condemned the racial abuse suffered by Junior Stanislas following Saturday's win at Stoke, calling it "disgusting and completely intolerable".
Stanislas was subjected to racist slurs and insults about his family by an individual on Twitter after scoring the Cherries' winning goal in the 1-0 Sky Bet Championship victory at the bet365 Stadium.
Blake vowed to do all the club can in identifying the person concerned and wants the "strongest possible action" taken against them.
"It is both disgusting and completely intolerable that anyone could be subjected to the racial abuse that Junior has received," Blake said in a statement on the club website.
"I am astounded that people believe writing and posting these comments is acceptable. We will be contacting Twitter and the Football Association for their help in identifying the individual concerned, and will pursue the strongest possible action against them.
"We strongly believe that social media platforms need to take greater responsibility and accountability for the actions of their users and the content that is published on their platforms.
"We would wholeheartedly support any movement towards ensuring that all social media accounts are verified through formal identification, and therefore make the users liable for their actions.
"The club's stance on any form of discrimination is unequivocal. It is completely unacceptable and must be called out and acted upon whenever and wherever it is found.
"We are a club which celebrates equality, diversity and inclusion, as highlighted by our ongoing 'Everyone Together' campaign, which tackles prejudice and promotes understanding.
"We stand firmly with Junior and will continue to work tirelessly to educate and rid the game of all forms of discrimination."
Following the abuse directed towards Stanislas on social media, a Twitter spokesperson told Sky Sports News in a statement: "Racist behaviour has no place on Twitter and we strongly condemn it. We take action on any account that violates the Twitter Rules.
"We welcome people to freely express themselves on our service, however, as outlined in our Hateful Conduct Policy, account holders cannot promote violence against, threaten or harass other people on the basis of race, ethnicity or other protected groups.
"We proactively engage and continue to collaborate with our valued partners in football, to identify ways to tackle this issue collectively. We remain focused on proactively actioning hateful content.
"We want to reiterate that abusive and hateful conduct has no place on our service and we will continue to take swift action on the minority that try to undermine the conversation for the majority. We will continue to play our part in curbing this unacceptable behaviour - both online and offline."
QPR captain Geoff Cameron described the racist abuse Bright Osayi-Samuel received on social media as "disgusting" and says the club "collectively stand by our team-mate".
Osayi-Samuel revealed he was racially abused on social media after QPR's 1-1 draw with Norwich, describing the comments as "disgusting and painful to receive messages like this".
In a statement to Sky Sports News, QPR said they "completely deplore the abhorrent abuse Bright has been subjected to" and are working with Instagram to help them identify the individual concerned.
QPR captain Cameron then issued his own statement to further support his team-mate.
"We collectively stand by our team-mate, Bright Osayi-Samuel," he said. "Through our beliefs and actions as a club, a team and individuals, we absolutely do not tolerate racism in any form. Full stop.
"What has occurred is disgusting and it is our hope that this individual is held accountable. We as a club have been at the forefront for fighting against racism and supporting equality for all. This will continue to be our stance."
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