Sheffield United condemn racist abuse aimed at David McGoldrick

Sheffield United have condemned racist abuse which was directed at striker David McGoldrick on social media.

McGoldrick, who scored twice in Saturday’s 3-0 win over Chelsea, wrote “2020 and this is life” as he shared a screengrab of a message he was sent in which he was called a “f****** dirty n*****” and told his life “defo doesnt matter!”.

A United tweet said: “As a club we will support David McGoldrick and will do all we can to find the perpetrator of this disgusting message.

“We will work with the relevant authorities to ensure the person behind this post is brought to justice.

“This cannot continue. Something needs to change.”

It comes a day after West Midlands Police arrested a 12-year-old boy in relation to racist abuse sent to Crystal Palace forward Wilfried Zaha on social media.

Zaha, 27, had posted screenshots on Twitter from messages sent to his Instagram account ahead of Palace’s Premier League fixture at Aston Villa on Sunday.

“You better not score tomorrow you black c***,” one read.

That was followed by a second message reading:  “Or I’ll come to your house dressed as a ghost.”

West Midlands Police said in a statement on Twitter on Sunday afternoon: “We were alerted to a series of racist messages sent to a footballer today and after looking into them and conducting checks, we have arrested a boy.

“The 12-year-old from #Solihull has been taken to custody. Thanks to everyone who raised it. Racism won’t be tolerated.”

Palace manager Roy Hodgson, speaking after his side’s 2-0 loss at Villa Park but before news of the arrest, described it the post as a “cowardly, despicable act”.

In a post on Monday, Zaha thanked the police for taking swift action, but said the case showed the need for more action to be taken to address the problem in society.

“People need to understand that whatever your age, that your behaviour and your words come with consequences and you cannot hide behind social media,” Zaha wrote.

“It is important social media platforms do as they did yesterday and seek out those individuals and remove them.

“This is not the first time I have received messages like this, nor am I the only player to receive messages like this – it happens every day. I want to thank everyone for the love and support but enough is enough!

“It is not enough to be disgusted by these messages and move on. It is enough to just say #notoracism. We need action, we need education, we need to change.”