{"id":1084683,"date":"2019-04-17T17:32:19","date_gmt":"2019-04-17T16:32:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/?p=1084683"},"modified":"2019-04-18T13:32:03","modified_gmt":"2019-04-18T12:32:03","slug":"man-utd-condemn-racist-abuse-ashley-young-barcelona","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/news\/man-utd-condemn-racist-abuse-ashley-young-barcelona\/","title":{"rendered":"Man Utd condemn racist abuse suffered by Ashley Young in wake of Barcelona defeat"},"content":{"rendered":"

Manchester United have condemned the racist abuse suffered by Ashley Young in the fallout of their Champions League defeat to Barcelona. <\/strong><\/p>\n

The Red Devils fell to a 4-0 aggregate defeat to Barca after losing 3-0 at the Nou Camp on Tuesday, after which Young was subjected to racist abuse on Twitter.<\/p>\n

Young, who captained the Red Devils on the night, became the latest target after a string of recent high-profile incidents of racist abuse. Last week, Chelsea barred entry to three individuals identified as having taken part in an Islamophobic chant aimed at Mohamed Salah.<\/p>\n

The following day, Arsenal were forced to launch an investigation into an online video in which a supporter can be heard racially abusing the Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly during the Europa League quarter-final first leg.<\/p>\n

United said the club “utterly condemns” the “racist social media comments”.<\/p>\n

The club added it was “working to identify individuals involved”.<\/p>\n

Anti-discrimination charity, Kick it Out, called upon Twitter to finally take serious action against users found to have partaken in racist abuse.<\/p>\n

“Yet another black player, this time Ashley Young, is targeted with racist abuse on social media after tonight’s Champions League game,” a Kick it Out<\/a> tweet read.<\/p>\n

“Again, we’re left asking Twitter the same question – when will you take serious action to tackle the rampant discrimination on your platform?”<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

A Twitter spokesperson responded by claiming the platform was suspending abusive accounts more frequently than last year.<\/p>\n

“We do not comment on individual cases for privacy reasons,” they said<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“Our abusive behaviour policy prohibits behaviour which attempts to harass, intimidate or silence another person’s voice and we take strong enforcement action if violations are found.<\/p>\n

“Progress in this space is tough, but we are deeply committed to improving the health of the conversation on the platform.<\/p>\n

“To this end, we are now suspending three times more abusive accounts within 24 hours after receiving a report than this time last year. We’ll continue building on this work to prioritise the safety of our users.”<\/p>\n

As per Twitter’s abusive behaviour policy, messages and posts which violate their terms of service are hidden and the offender’s account is suspended until the post is removed.<\/p>\n

Young, who is active on Twitter, is yet to publish a response.<\/p>\n