The world consists of all kinds of people, and while most are nice and kind, there are some who do not care about others and their feelings. Newcastle United’s player, Joe Willock, has now fallen prey to one of those kinds of people who have started to racially abuse him over social media after the player participated in a match against Arsenal.
This is not the first time we’ve encountered racism in football; players like Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior have also confronted this issue. Many other players have experienced similar incidents of racism, and this problem continues to grow.
Joe Willock shares strong message against racism
Newcastle United and Arsenal clashed in a Premier League Round 11 match on November 5. Despite having less possession, the Magpies secured a 1-0 victory, handing the Gunners their first Premier League defeat of the season. In the 62nd minute, midfielder Joe Willock substituted for Callum Wilson.
Joe played a crucial role in a controversial goal when he kept the ball in play near the corner flag and provided a cross that led to a goal. Initially, VAR had difficulty determining whether the ball was out of play, but eventually, the goal was awarded.
This behavior of Joe Willock has now gotten him some hate from the fans who are calling him racial slurs. The player posted a screenshot on his Instagram story where a person was seen calling him the N word over text. Another one called him a monkey and said other hurtful things as well. All this caused Joe to take a stand against racism. He posted an image on his Instagram story saying “Show racism the red card”. It is sad to see a player have to go through all this just because he tried to lead his team to victory.
Newcastle United issue statement regarding racism
This behavior against Joe Willock has not gone unnoticed by his club. Newcastle United has issued a statement saying that they do not condemn this kind of behavior and that there is no room for racism in football. “Newcastle United strongly condemns racist abuse sent to Bruno Guimarães and Joe Willock via social media following yesterday’s victory over Arsenal. Our message is clear. There is no room for racism in football or society,” they said.
The whole match was filled with controversial decisions. The single goal scored by Newcastle’s Anthony Gordon was also not received well by Arsenal fans, as they believed it was offside. Arsenal’s manager, Mikel Artetea, was also not happy with the decision.
We have seen racism in football in the past as well, and the authorities need to take strict action to protect their players from such behavior.
