Jankewitz, who now plays for Swiss club Young Boys, was abused after Saints' 9-0 defeat at Manchester United on February 2; the 19-year-old was sent off in the second minute of the game on his first Premier League start; Twitter removed the comments and banned the users in February.
Monday 20 September 2021 10:21, UK
Hampshire Police have been unable to take action against the Twitter users who racially abused former Southampton midfielder Alex Jankewitz as they were found to be outside of the UK.
Jankewitz, who now plays for Swiss club Young Boys, was abused after Saints' 9-0 defeat at Manchester United on February 2.
The 19-year-old was sent off in the second minute of the game on his first Premier League start.
Police launched an investigation and identified the IP addresses linked to the offending accounts, but as the users were registered outside of the UK the probe was closed.
A spokeswoman for Hampshire Police told Sky Sports News: "We carried out a thorough investigation into the racist comments directed towards a Southampton Football Club player on Feb 2, 2021.
"We identified a number of IP addresses linked to usernames who had sent the messages, however they were registered outside of the UK.
"Therefore we have been unable to identify who was responsible to take any further action.
"This was communicated back to Southampton Football Club and the player.
"We continue to work closely with SFC to ensure players feel confident to report abuse to us and get the support they need.
"Police at a national level are continuing to work with social media companies to reduce online hate.
"Any crime perpetuated through ignorance, prejudice or hate is unacceptable and will not be tolerated."
Twitter removed the comments and banned the users in February.
Sky Sports is committed to making skysports.com and our channels on social media platforms a place for comment and debate that is free of abuse, hate and profanity.
For more information, please visit: www.skysports.com/againstonlinehate
If you see a reply to Sky Sports posts and/or content with an expression of hate on the basis of race, sex, colour, gender, nationality, ethnicity, disability, religion, sexuality, age or class, please copy the URL to the hateful post and screengrab it and email us here.
Online Reporting Form | Kick It Out
Kick It Out is football's equality and inclusion organisation - working throughout the football, educational and community sectors to challenge discrimination, encourage inclusive practices and campaign for positive change.
