Social media giants were criticised by players in a powerful statement
Wales stars Ben Cabango and Rabbi Matondo are two of the latest footballers to experience racial abuse on social media.
The pair were sent a barrage of abusive messages, many racist in nature, following Wales’ 1-0 win over Mexico in Cardiff.
The friendly match was full-back Chris Gunter’s 100th international appearance, making him the first male player in history to register a century of appearances for Wales.
Robert Page named a much-changed starting lineup to the side that lost 3-1 to Belgium.
Out went regulars such as Danny Ward, Connor Roberts, Gareth Bale and Harry Wilson. In came replacements Wayne Hennessey, Ben Cabango, Rabbi Matondo and more.
Cardiff striker Kieffer Moore gave Wales the win with the only goal of the game in the 11th minute. Moore controlled a Jonny Williams pass before slotting past Guillermo Ochoa.
Mexico’s main threat came through Napoli forward Hirving Lozano, but to no avail. He and Cabango clashed on numerous occasions in a fairly feisty affair.
Cabango has been hugely impressive at centre back for Swansea, scoring four times from the heart of a defence that has conceded just 29 times this season.
After the match against Mexico, both Cabango and winger Rabbi Matondo were racially abused on social media.
“2021 and it’s still happening,” wrote Cabango on Instagram.
Matondo, on loan at Stoke from Schalke, released a powerful statement on Twitter, calling on social media giants to do more to combat racial abuse.
https://twitter.com/rabbi_matondo/status/1375961025758048260?s=20
After accusing social media platforms of “doing absolutely nothing” about racism, Matondo added “my insta will get taken down if I post any clips from my games though…”
This latest episode of abuse comes just days after Thierry Henry quit social media following abuse. The Arsenal legend described the situation as “too toxic to ignore”.
Earlier this month, Facebook (which also owns Instagram) said in a statement it will “continue to work with the police and wider industry to collectively tackle this issue”.
