Premier League News: Hampshire Police Investigating Racist Abuse Toward Alex Jankewitz

Southampton F.C. midfielder Alex Jankewitz made his first Premier League start on Tuesday during a match against Manchester F.C. The 19-year-old was sent off in the second minute of the 9-0 loss after he made a reckless lunge, sparking “abusive comments” on social media. Now the Hampton Police are investigating a number of racist social media posts directed at Jankewitz.

According to talkSPORT‘s Alex Crook, a senior detective at Hampshire Police reached out concerning the posts on social media. The journalist sent several screenshots to the authorities and then requested other examples from Twitter users in order for him to pass them on. Southampton F.C. then formally reported the “abhorrent racial abuse” to the authorities. The club also released a statement condemning racism in any form.

“Southampton Football Club can confirm that it has identified a number of posts on social media directing racial abuse at our 19-year-old midfielder Alex Jankewitz, following last night’s result at Manchester United,” the club said in a statement. “Abuse of any form will never be tolerated at Southampton. Our club prides itself on its inclusive nature, and supporters who stoop to such abhorrent and archaic standards are not welcome as Southampton supporters, or anywhere else within football.

“The club will continue to fight every day to remove such people from our sport and our community in order to protect our players, our staff, Southampton fans and football supporters around the world who recognise and celebrate the diversity that makes football special,” the statement continued. “The club is passing on all abusive messages to Hampshire Police and hope they are able to permanently remove those individuals from our football community.”

Sky Sports reports that Jankewitz is not the only Premier League player to deal with racial abuse on social media in recent weeks. United forward Marcus Rashford was the victim of social media abuse on Sunday after a goalless draw at Arsenal. He responded to the comments with a tweet of his own, calling them “humanity and social media at its worst”. Additionally, Chelsea defender Reece James, West Brom midfielder Romaine Sawyers and United duo Anthony Martial and Axel Tuanzebe all have faced abuse of their own.

The Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) issued a statement in response to the attacks on the players. The PFA called for Twitter, Instagram and Facebook to prevent users from using “explicitly racist” terms and emojis. The organization said that these terms are not acceptable in any context and said that the abuse causes trauma.