'Not sure if giving my opinion on football warrants me being called a black c*** and a n*****': Former Sheffield United star Curtis Woodhouse reveals vile racist abuse he received online, just weeks after Ian Wright received similar messages
by Sam Mcevoy For Mailonline- Curtis Woodhouse reveals he has been racially abused on Instagram and Twitter
- Former Sheffield United midfielder showed the disgusting abused on Monday
- Woodhouse was called a 'black c***' and 'n*****' after posting about football
- It comes a fortnight after Ian Wright was racially abused on social media
Former Sheffield United midfielder Curtis Woodhouse has revealed the disgusting racist abuse he has received on social media after he simply voiced his opinion on football-related matters.
The ex-professional footballer-turned-boxer took to Twitter on Monday to show the vile abuse he received by posting screenshots of a comment that said: 'Black c*** f*** off'.
Woodhouse tweeted: 'Not sure if giving my opinion on a football matter warrants me being called a black c*** on twitter and a n***** on Instagram. Just a reminder really of how certain people see you. I keep getting told it’s a small minority, I’m not too sure anymore.'
The offending tweet, which has since been deleted, was posted at lunchtime before Woodhouse was able to grab a screenshot as he engaged in a discussion with followers about the sport.
The unprovoked attack came a fortnight after Arsenal legend Ian Wright suffered similar abuse, where he was labelled a 'f***ing monkey', a 'n****r' and a 'cotton picking black c**n'.
Wright was also told: 'Your [sic] like 65 years old if I get corona I will cough in your face and give you your death sentence. If I see you I will put you on your death bed.'
In another section of the abusive rant, which was sent to Wright via a direct message on Instagram, the user wrote: 'You are a c**n. I hate you. I hate your mom. I hate your dad. I hate your brothers and sisters. I hate all your family. You cotton picking black c**n'.
An Irish teenager has since handed himself into police in relation to the abuse, which was confirmed by Irish police in a statement.
An official police statement read: 'An Garda Siochana is investigating an incident where abusive/racist comments have been re-posted on social media platforms.
'No formal complaint has been received but an investigation has commenced into the comments in line with our Diversity and Integration Strategy.
'A male adult teenager has presented voluntarily at a Garda Station and has been interviewed.
'A file is now being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions.
'An Garda Siochana are appealing to the public not to engage in social media commentary in relation to this matter.'
Wright posted a tweet on his official account on Monday with three screenshots of abusive messages.
The former England striker tweeted: 'I know I'm not meant to look at them but these messages still hit me so hard man. This is a child!!!'
Wright's post came as ex-Aston Villa striker Gabby Agbonlahor revealed he too had been targeted and called a 'n*****' by an Instagram user while his family members including his children were also threatened.
Agbonlahor said his account was temporarily shut down while the matter was investigated after he exposed his abuser and described the message as 'the worst thing ever.'
The three latest situations sparked fresh calls for the social media companies to do more to clamp down on racist abuse sent on their platforms.
Wright, who has over two million followers on Twitter and Instagram alone, told radio station No Signal he found the abuse 'dehumanising' and 'humiliating.'
He added: 'There has to be some form of consequence.
'I've got a platform where I can reach people. This is happening to people on a daily basis where they can't do what I did - that's why I had to call this guy out.
'We're dealing with people that need to hide. Platforms like Instagram and Twitter are where they can hide but, what they haven't understood and what that guy will have realised today is, it's not my platform - it's everybody who has come in on him. Something has to be done. He was relentless with it as well. You can't let people get away with it. It's wrong in every way. I don't want this happening to my kids. I'm fighting this one all the way.'
In a statement the PFA called for 'fundamental changes' of policy on social media platforms and accused them of 'continually' avoiding to 'adequately' resolve.
They added: 'We are disgusted to see the racist abuse aimed at Ian Wright and Gabriel Agbonlahor and their families.
'At any time, this is abhorrent behaviour, but when people should be coming together more than ever, it is particularly disturbing.
'It is unacceptable for social networks to allow instances like this to go on. With the technology and expertise at their disposal, there simply must be a way to prevent abuse like this from being sent. Anything less than that is not good enough.
'We respect both Ian Wright and Gabriel Agbonlahor's right to address the abuse personally, given that the social media networks continually avoid adequately dealing with the issue. We applaud both former players for their courage in speaking out.
'While social networks have previously assured us that they were working on solutions to address racist abuse and hate speech via their platforms. It seems very little has changed.'