'Must do more': Social media companies facing more pressure after Wolves incident and weekend of racial abuse
Anti-discrimination group Kick It Out have made renewed calls for social media companies to take action over racial abuse - after Wolves striker Tolu Arokodare was targeted.
The Wolves forward was subjected to vile racist abuse online following Wolves' defeat to Crystal Palace - a game in which the striker had missed a penalty.
It was a dark weekend for football as Sunderland's Romaine Mundle was also subjected to abuse on Sunday - while Burnley's Hannibal Mejbri and Chelsea Wesley Fofana were also victims on Saturday.
Wolves issued a strong statement on Sunday, throwing their support behind the striker and calling for tough action to be taken.
And Kick It Out have echoed those words - insisting work is going on to tackle the issue with policing units and Ofcom - but the social media companies have to do more.
In a statement, they said: "This has been an appalling weekend after four players called out the racist abuse they've received on social media. But the sad fact is, we know it happens regularly.
"The message from them is loud and clear: action must follow. Players cannot be expected to tolerate this behaviour, and nor should anyone else.
"Words matter, but actions are more important. Football is working together to tackle this issue alongside the UK Football Policing Unit and Ofcom, but social media companies must do more to offer protections to players and help improve accountability when incidents occur.
"Those who face this disgusting abuse must always be the priority."
Social media companies have long been under the spotlight for failing to cut down on the abuse footballers are receiving via their platforms.
In their latest statement to the BBC, following racial abuse over the weekend, Meta, which owns platforms including Instagram, said: "No-one should be subjected to racist abuse, and we remove this content when we find it.
"No one thing will stop racist behaviour overnight, but we'll continue working to protect our community from abuse and co-operate with police investigations."
