Dec 13,2024
Manchester City defender Kyle Walker has called for more to be done to prevent online abuse after he revealed a "vile, racist and threatening" message he received in the wake of Wednesday's 2-0 loss at Juventus.
Walker played the whole match in Turin but could not help Pep Guardiola's team avoid a seventh defeat in 10 matches.
England international Walker posted a screenshot of a message he received on Instagram from an unnamed user to his social media accounts on Thursday, which read: "Bro you can f*** around and die you stupid ass n****."
"No one should ever be subjected to the sort of vile, racist and threatening abuse I have received online since last night's match," Walker wrote on his X and Instagram accounts.
"Instagram and the authorities need to stop this happening for the sake of all who are suffering this abuse. It is never acceptable.
"To our fans, we will continue to work as a team to do better, to improve and to turn the corner together."
City quickly condemned the racist attack. A club statement read: "Manchester City strongly condemns the racist abuse that Kyle Walker was subject to online following last night's fixture.
"We refuse to tolerate discrimination of any kind, regardless of whether that be in stadiums or online.
"We will be offering Kyle our full support following the disgusting treatment he has received."
Meanwhile Ilkay Gundogan admits Manchester City are "not strong enough right now" and cannot find the switch to turn their season around.
Midfield veteran Gundogan said: "It just feels like we are not strong enough right now and we have to work on that. The situation is not easy.
"It's about trying to find the switch to turn things around. We have to do the simple things.
"If we don't find that click, it's going to be tough. Every single player has to push themselves individually to be better.
"Individually and collectively - everyone now has to question themselves and try to figure out what to change and what to do to contribute to the team in the best possible way."
City's slump has seen them fall well off the pace in their quest to win an unprecedented fifth successive Premier League title.
They trail leaders Liverpool by eight points having played a game more and face a further test of their resolve as they host derby rivals Manchester United on Sunday.
"I feel we are not playing that bad, but something is missing," said 2023 treble-winning captain Gundogan, who rejoined the club in the summer after a year at Barcelona.
"It's not the time to give away the whole season because there are so many games still to play, which is an opportunity on one side, but we have to turn things around quite quickly."
