The Newcastle midfielder Joe Willock has called on those in charge of social media companies to clamp down on the “lowlifes” who subjected him to racist online abuse. The 25-year-old hit back after his club called in the police over discriminatory posts aimed at him and his family in the wake of the Magpies’ 2-1 Premier League defeat by Fulham on 1 February.
Willock, who described those responsible as “lowlifes”, told the Newcastle Chronicle: “It’s happened to me many times. It was the severity of it. That’s why I had to put it out there. If you are not only coming for my race, but threatening my family, wishing bad things on them, that’s when I have to put it out there and report it. You could actually endanger someone if you have that hatred. I had to do it.”
Willock, who praised his club’s strong response to the incident and the support they have provided since, urged social media companies to take stronger action against offenders in an effort to tackle the issue.
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He said: “From the club side, they gave me everything. They tried to sort it out as soon as possible – but it’s bigger than that. It has to be clamped down upon from the social media side, from the higher people in the social media companies.”
