Man United's Paul Pogba says racist insults 'are ignorance and can only make me stronger'
Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba isn’t letting recent racist attacks on social media get to him.
In fact, it’s only motivating him to fight harder.
Pogba was targeted online Monday following Manchester United’s 1-1 draw against Wolves, where he missed a second-half penalty kick. Naturally, that drew fast condemnation from his club, his teammates and most of the soccer world — which even asked social media sites for action. Some even suggested a social media boycott completely.
Pogba responded on Twitter Sunday, posting a powerful picture of himself holding his child in front of a painting of his late father, Fassou Antoine, and Martin Luther King Jr. It marked his first tweet in nearly one month.
My ancestors and my parents suffered for my generation to be free today, to work, to take the bus, to play football. Racist insults are ignorance and can only make me stronger and motivate me to fight for the next generation. pic.twitter.com/J9IqyWQj4K
— Paul Pogba (@paulpogba) August 25, 2019
“My ancestors and my parents suffered for my generation to be free today, to work, to take the bus, to play football,” Pogba wrote. “Racist insults are ignorance and can only make me stronger and motivate me to fight for the next generation.”
The attacks against Pogba follow a series of other racist online incidents in just the past two weeks. Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford was sent a series of racist tweets after he missed a penalty kick in a 2-1 loss to Crystal Palace on Saturday. Chelsea forward Tammy Abraham and Reading midfielder Yakou Meite received similar messages after missing penalty kicks in their respective matches, too.
“It needs to stop,” Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said on Saturday, via ESPN. “I’m just lost for words. They keep hiding behind fake IDs and it’s crazy we talk about this in 2019.”
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