Zach Sturge: Millwall defender suffers racist abuse after red card

Millwall defender Zach Sturge received racist abuse online after being sent off against Blackburn Rovers on Saturday.

Sturge was sent off in the 59th minute for a foul on Yuki Ohashi while his side led 1-0, before Blackburn’s Matthias Jorgensen scored twice in five minutes to turn the scoreline in Rovers’ favor late on.

Millwall said the abuse came from two external Instagram accounts, neither of which appeared to have any affiliation with either club.

Millwall said in a statement: “Both accounts have been reported to Meta, the parent company of Instagram, and the Premier League, and the club is awaiting an update on this matter.”, external.

He continued: “Emojis with racist intent and insults about his skin color were sent to Zac from two separate Instagram accounts abroad – one from Belgium and the other from Mexico.

“Neither account appears to have any association with Millwall or Blackburn Rovers.

“The club is doing everything it can to support Zak and his family and strongly condemns this behavior in the strongest possible terms.

He added: “It is shameful that players will continue to be subjected to such abuse in 2026. It has no place in the sport we love or in society.”