Sheffield United defender Mason Holgate has spoken out after receiving ‘constant online abuse’ from trolls on social media.
On Sunday, the on-loan Blades defender lunged into a tackle on Brighton‘s Kaoru Mitoma in the opening exchanges at Bramall Lane, in a collision that sparked outrage from the away side.
Holgate was initially shown a yellow card for the tackle before referee Stuart Atwell checked with his assistants, and after a second look on the VAR screen, the punishment was upgraded to a straight red card.
The defender has since taken to social media to ‘apologise’ to his team-mates and Sheffield United supporters, before addressing the racist abuse he’s received.
In a post onto his Instagram account, Holgate wrote: ‘I can only apologise for letting my teammates, club + fans down on the weekend & have done so this week personally…
Sheffield United’s Mason Holgate has spoken out after receiving ‘constant online abuse’
Holgate was sent off for a high challenge on Brighton winger Kauro Mitoma on Sunday
The Blades star shared screenshots of the offensive messages sent to him since the incident
‘However, the last 48 hours has been difficult to take… the constant racist abuse across my social media… here are some of the messages! As a sport + society we need to do more & there needs to be consequences for Racism!’.
In the video that accompanied the post, a plethora of hateful comments that included monkey emojis, which were directed at Holgate, were shown.
Meanwhile, Rio Ferdinand‘s agent – who also represents Holgate – shared the same video before taking aim at Instagram for their lack of ‘protection’ offered.
Jake Mallen – who works as a Commercial & Media Executive at New Era Global Sports – took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to make his complaint public.
Mallen wrote: ‘Another client that has been racially abused online as he was sent off on the weekend.
‘Flagged to @instagram who reply: ‘I’m guessing hidden words is not activated yea? No protection, no care to eradicate on their platform – nothing changed!’.
Players represented by New Era Global Sports include Ben Godfrey, Jacob Murphy and Michael Keane.
According to their website, Ferdinand is ‘a company ambassador/player mentor, where he regularly attends games and offering his experience and advice to our clients’.
After initially showing a yellow, the referee sent off Holgate for the tackle on Kaoru Mitoma
Rio Ferdinand’s agent took aim at Instagram for their lack of ‘protection’ offered to players
Sheffield United also released an official club statement which condemned the racist abuse which has been directed at Holgate.
The statement read: ‘Sheffield United condemn, in the strongest possible terms, the racist abuse received by Mason Holgate following Sunday’s Premier League fixture against Brighton and Hove Albion.
‘We will support Mason and applaud him bringing this to light on social media. The club will work with relevant bodies to investigate. There is no room for racism in our game’.
Back in January, Coventry City star Kasey Palmer was allegedly subjected to racist abuse during the club’s match against Sheffield Wednesday.
The midfielder played in Coventry’s 2-1 away win at Hillsborough last month when the incident occurred.
Palmer reported to referee Anthony Backhouse that a supporter had made monkey gestures towards him, leading to a stoppage in play.
The 27-year-old appeared upset at the full-time whistle where he was comforted by team-mates and manager Mark Robins.
Palmer addressed the abuse in a post on social media following the match.
Meanwhile, earlier this month, Birmingham City star Juninho Bacuna was targeted with racist abuse for the second time this season.
Back in January, Kasey Palmer was subjected to racial abuse during Coventry’s clash with Sheffield Wednesday
Towards the end of the Blues’ match at West Bromwich Albion, Bacuna reported to officials that he had heard a racially-charged remark from the Halfords Lane Stand at the Hawthorns.
West Brom said they would give their full support to West Midlands Police, who are investigating the incident.
Birmingham later released a statement which Bacuna posted on his Instagram story. It read: ‘The club can confirm Juninho Bacuna reported an incident of racism to the referee, David Webb. This will be included in the official’s match report and the club will assist the FA, the EFL and the authorities accordingly.
‘Birmingham City thanks the West Brom stewards, security and executive team who acted immediately and the issue is now with West Midlands Police. The club offers its full and unwavering support to Juninho.’
