Joe Willock: Newcastle called the police after ‘disgusting’ racist abuse.

Newcastle United Police have been contacted after midfielder Joe Willock was subjected to “disgusting” racist abuse and “deeply disturbing” threats on social media.

Willock was targeted by an anonymous Instagram account following his side’s 2-0 win over Crystal Palace on Sunday.

The substitute missed a late goal at St James’ Park, and went on to post a screenshot highlighting a series of hateful private messages he received from a social media user after the match.

The club said: “We are disgusted by the racist abuse received by Joe Willock on Instagram on Sunday evening.”

“Following our win over Crystal Palace, Joe received several direct messages from his Instagram account that included racist insults and extremely disturbing threats of violence towards Joe and his family.”

In response to the letters, Wheelock wrote: “I pray for you and your family to find God and have mercy on you.”

This is the second time in less than a year that Wheelock has highlighted racist messages he received on Instagram.

Newcastle previously contacted the police after Willock was targeted on the social media platform following the 2-1 defeat to Fulham last February.

The club said that removing content and applying message filters is not enough, and called on social media companies to do more to “protect users and support the prosecution of those who seek to break the law on their platforms.”

“Unfortunately, Joe has faced this before,” the club said. “Each time, we acted quickly to support him and that was once again our immediate priority.

“We quickly reported this matter to the police and will fully support any investigation to identify the person responsible and hold them accountable wherever they may be.”

“This can only happen through purposeful action by Meta, the owners of Instagram. We urge Meta to give the police all the information they need to identify the perpetrator, and to do so quickly.”

Northumbria Police have confirmed that an investigation has been launched, with the force working alongside the UK Football Police Unit.

A spokesman for the organization said: “We condemn all forms of discrimination, as it has no place in society and our communities.”

Richard Offiong, co-ordinator of Red Card Racism, the UK’s leading anti-racism education charity, found it “saddening” to see Willock receive “disgusting abuse” on several occasions.

The former Newcastle academy player said the incident highlighted the “urgent need” for social media companies to do “more” to prevent racist abuse on their platforms.

“Stronger measures are needed to quickly identify perpetrators, remove harmful content, and ensure those responsible face real consequences,” he said.

“Education, accountability and strong enforcement must go hand in hand if we are serious about tackling racism.”

A spokesman for anti-discrimination charity Kick It Out also expressed “disgust to hear of the vile racism” directed towards Willock.

He added: “We stand by his determination to denounce this behavior.” “But this must be met with action from those who can prevent it.

“We have seen an increase in online abuse reported to us this season, and there is no sign of it slowing down.

“Perpetrators must be held accountable, and social media companies must work hard to better protect their users. As this breach shows, current safeguards are not fit for purpose.”

It is known that Meta is in direct contact with the club and stressed that “no one should be subjected to racist abuse.”

A spokesman for the American multinational technology company said: “Sending messages like this is against our rules.”

“Direct messages [direct messages] It is a private messaging service, which means we cannot review or take action on the message unless the person who received the offensive direct message reports it to us within the app.

“Nothing will stop this behavior overnight, but we will take appropriate action and work to help protect our community from abuse and support police investigations.”