Rangers players Emmanuel Fernandez and Djeidi Gassama have been targeted with racist abuse on social media following the club’s 2-2 draw against Livingston on Sunday, and Police Scotland have confirmed an investigation is underway. I wish I could say this surprises me. It does not.
The abuse was posted on Instagram following what was admittedly a disappointing result for Rangers against the bottom of the table side. But no result in football, no matter how frustrating, justifies what these two young men were subjected to. Centre half Fernandez and winger Gassama both found themselves the targets of comments that Rangers rightly described as “simply unacceptable.”
The club reported the abuse to both Police Scotland and Meta, Instagram’s parent company. In their statement, Rangers said: “We are in direct contact with Djeidi and Manny and have offered our full support both now and through any future judicial process. We are proud that they stood up for themselves by highlighting this vile abuse.”
A Police Scotland spokesperson confirmed: “We are aware of offensive posts online and enquiries are at an early stage.”
This is far from an isolated incident in Scottish football. Just last month, Livingston striker Jeremy Bokila claimed he suffered racist abuse during their loss against Aberdeen. The 37 year old has since met with the SFA’s lawyers to discuss the incident, which the implicated Aberdeen player denies.
The wider European picture is equally grim. UEFA has banned Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni provisionally following an alleged racist incident involving Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior. The Brazilian left the pitch and refused to return, causing a ten minute stoppage during Real’s 1-0 win in Lisbon.
Social media platforms bear enormous responsibility here. Instagram and its parent company Meta have the tools to prevent this kind of abuse. They choose not to deploy them effectively. Until there are genuine consequences, both for the individuals who post this filth and for the platforms that host it, we will keep having the same conversation every few weeks. Scottish football deserves better. These players deserve better.