Newcastle condemn abuse toward players

Newcastle, Nov 5: Newcastle United condemned Sunday the discriminatory abuse sent to Bruno Guimarães and Joe Willock in the wake of a controversy-laden Premier League match against Arsenal that has sparked heavy criticism by the London club about the standard of officiating in England’s top division. Willock, who is Black, used his Instagram account to highlight racist messages he received after Newcastle’s 1-0 win on Saturday. Willock is a former Arsenal player and was involved in the build-up to the only goal scored by Anthony Gordon that survived a lengthy video review for three possible infringements. Guimarães, a Brazil international, was also involved in some of the most heated incidents of the match at St. James’ Park. Newcastle said it “strongly condemns” the abuse toward its midfielders. “We are providing support to Bruno and Joe and will work with relevant authorities and social media platforms to identify those responsible so that they can be held to account,” the English Premier League club further added. Kick It Out, a leading anti-discrimination group in football, called on social media companies to offer better safeguards against the abuse. “Sadly, this has been an almost weekly occurrence this season, and the costs on players’ mental health are huge,” the group said. (AP)