When will it end? A new Premier league target of racist abuse on social media

Crystal Palace left-back Patrick Van Aanholt revealed he was racially abused online after missing a late chance in a goalless stalemate against Manchester United on Wednesday evening.

The Eagles defender played the full 90 minutes at south London's Selhurst Park as Roy Hodgson's squad battled their way to a deserved point against Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's Champions League hopefuls. The 30-year-old Dutch international could have made it all three points for the home team late on when his shot got deflected in a 1v1 situation against the stand-in goalkeeper of the Red Devils, Dean Henderson.

And what greeted him when he unlocked his phone after the game? - another awful case of racial abuse via social platforms. Van Aanholt has revealed that he received an abusive message on Instagram after the game, with the perpetrator posting disgusting comments in relation to an unsuccessful bet. Van Aanholt was labelled a 'monkey' by the abuser and told to 'break ur [sic] f****** neck'. The footballer shared a screenshot of the messages with the caption: 'Why we kneel...'.

As everyone who follows sport even vaguely knows, the Palace defender isn't the first player to be targeted racially online, with clubs imploring tech giants to do more to combat the growing problem. Anthony Martial and Axel Tuanzebe of Manchester United were virtually attacked after a weak performance of the Red Devils against their namesake from Sheffield. As Mozzart Sport Kenya already reported, sourcing the news from Sportsmail, Martial was offered security by United amid the sickening abuse after his wife Melanie revealed that she had been subjected to further abuse which included death threats to both herself and her husband.

Martial's safety in danger?

Some footballers have responded to racist abuse online, with United star Marcus Rashford hitting out at vile comments following the club's 0-0 draw with Arsenal in January.

Chelsea defender Reece James, Arsenal winger Willian, West Brom’s Romaine Sawyers and Southampton youngster Alex Jankewitz have also been targeted by racist trolls online this season.

Not only active players have gone through the situation of being tracked and abused online. Earlier this year, Arsenal legend Ian Wright said he was 'disappointed' that an Irish teenager who sent him abuse on Instagram escaped a criminal conviction. Patrick O'Brien (18), sent 20 abusive messages to 57-year-old Wright, on Instagram after losing a FIFA video game match in May 2019. O'Brien was given probation, to which Wright responded: 'I am disappointed, I'm tired, we are all tired'.

Players, former and current, are urging the social media platforms to upgrade their security stating that there is no way the platforms themselves cannot track down and limit users from spreading such content.