Manchester United's Anthony Elanga sent racist abuse on Instagram after missing penalty during Middlesbrough FA Cup clash

February 05, 2022

Manchester United forward Anthony Elanga was subjected to racist abuse on social media after he missed a penalty in his side's FA Cup defeat last night.

The fourth round clash with Middlesbrough at Old Trafford ended 1-1 after extra time and the game went to a penalty shootout.

Elanga put his attempt over the bar, resulting in an 8-7 win for the Sky Bet Championship side.

The devastated 19-year-old was then consoled by teammates, including Cristiano Ronaldo, who also missed a penalty in the first half.

After the game, Aberdeen striker Jay Emmanuel-Thomas tweeted screenshots to highlight the racist abuse Elanga received on Instagram, saying "Sooo easy to predict… "

There were a number of racist comments on Elanga's latest post on the social media platform, where he shared his pride at hearing his name being sang by the home fans during the matches.

Marcus Rashford, who was also sent online racist abuse after missing a penalty in England's Euro 2020 final defeat to Italy last summer, offered his support to his teammate.

He said on Twitter: "Anthony Elanga. Get that head of yours up immediately."

It comes after Ross County's Regan Charles-Cook and Rangers' Nnamdi Ofoborh recently suffered racial abuse.

Under new laws, football fans who racially abuse players online will be banned from matches in England and Wales for up to 10 years.

The law is expected to be introduced as an amendment to the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill.

Football banning orders prevent the individual from going to regulated football matches for three to 10 years and there are 1,359 in force across England and Wales, according to the latest Home Office figures.

Meta, which is the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, told Sky News the company "worked quickly to remove abusive comments from Elanga's account and will continue to take action on anything that breaks our rules".

A spokeswoman also said they are "in direct contact with Elanga's team and supporting on this issue".

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