Once again and for the fourth time this season Morgan Whittaker is the next player to be disgustingly abused online. Scoring a crucial goal for the swans was all it took for the cowardly and criminal remarks to be posted on Instagram and Twitter. And all this on the weekend when thousands of social media accounts carried out their own action in support of anti hate messages.

It has to be the saddest indictment on the world today that a young twenty year old man who successfully plies his trade against his old club has to put up with this continued abuse. Nothing has been heard from the three other ongoing investigations in to the abuse faced by Jan Dhanda, Jamal Lowe and Ben Cabango. No further information has been made public on the perpetrators of these vile actions other than their accounts have been suspended. Well, that isn’t good enough, there needs to be clear and proper action taken to the full letter of the law. Not just a smack on the wrist.

The malicious communications act was generally used to convict people who commit these offences, however no football related remark breaching this act has resulted in the maximum two year sentence. There are other offences that can be committed by any individual preaching or communicating hate messages. An average of seventeen people are arrested every day for online abuse but the sentencing for being proved guilty are rarely published. Of course they need to be and they need to be firm and at the top of the tariff for committing these offences.

Today Swansea City FC released this statement
"Swansea City is saddened, angry and appalled by vile racist abuse received by Morgan Whittaker via social media following Saturday's game against Derby County. The abuse in question has been reported to South Wales Police and the club is assisting them in their investigation. The fact that this has happened across a period where clubs, players and stakeholders have come together for a boycott of social media for this very reason, again shows just how much work still needs to be done. Morgan is sadly the fourth Swansea City player to suffer such abhorrent and disgraceful abuse online since February - a damning indictment on the world we live in. "As a club we will continue to strive for change, urging social media companies to take strong action and implement real change on their platforms that will enable its users to open their accounts and not have to worry about what they might find.

"Chief executive Julian Winter recently wrote to both Twitter and Facebook, the latter replying with examples of how they try to combat online abuse. "But with vile incidents appearing on a daily basis, stronger action is clearly required. Morgan has the full and unwavering support of everyone at Swansea City, and our message remains clear. Enough is enough."

South Wales Police
"Tackling hate crime has always been a priority for South Wales Police - this behaviour is something that will not be tolerated in our community. The force takes hate crime seriously and works closely with those involved in football to raise awareness of hate crime amongst players and supporters." The police have asked the Welsh FA for assistance in previous racist messages posted on social media towards Swansea City players, but we see no evidence of their condemnation or action to campaign and support the club other than the usual statements.

Kick it Out !
“But beneath the surface, hate and division in society remains a lurking pernicious threat. Our reports indicate a steep rise of 47% in discrimination reports over the last two years, which reflect the hate crime statistics from the Home Office that show marked national increases over the last four years. “Social media can be a battleground of hate. We need to work together across society to win this battle. We need better regulation and enforcement and we need social media companies to be part of the solution. We need clubs and governing bodies to continue to lobby for change, sanction offending supporters and support law enforcement processes with the provision of evidence.”

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Photographs Licensed from Reuters

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