Nigerian striker Jonathan Afolabi Racially Abused in Scottish League
Ireland-born Nigerian striker Jonathan Afolabi was racially abused in his last game against Bonnyrigg Rose in the Scottish Cup. The Nigerian striker is currently on-loan to Dundee FC from Celtic.
He received ‘vile’ online racist abuse following Saturday’s 3-2 Scottish Cup win over Lowland League side Bonnyrigg Rose. 20-years-old Jonathan Afolabi shared seven disgusting messages sent to him by one individual on his Instagram story where he was called the ‘n-word’ and “a f*****g monkey”.
Dundee, who play in the Scottish Championship, were seconds from being knocked out of the Cup tie before the Nigeran striker came off the bench to score a stoppage-time equaliser and send the game to extra-time.
It is not the only racist incident at Dundee this week with another unnamed player receiving abuse following last Saturday’s league game against Hearts.
It is understood the club have reported both incidents and are considering all other options. Dundee released a statement saying: “Following last night’s Scottish Cup victory over Bonnyrigg Rose we were made aware of vile racist messages that had been directed to one of our players.
It further states that: “Dundee Football Club utterly condemns racism in any form.” “Racism has no place in society. We have reported these unacceptable messages and will look into what further steps can be taken.”
“Sadly, this isn’t the first incident in the last seven days which has seen one of our players being subjected to abuse.” “After last weekend’s match with Heart of Midlothian, another player received disgusting messages which have also been reported.”
“As a club, we have zero tolerance for these abusive messages and give our players our full support.” Last year it was reported that former Super Eagles skipper John Mikel Obi was racially abused in the Turkish League. the fight against racism in football gets tougher and tougher as more persons are now involved in the fight.