West Brom manager Sam Allardyce has revealed the shocking scale of the racist abuse sent to Callum Robinson on social media.
The Republic of Ireland striker was subjected to a torrent of racist abuse following his two-goal salvo in West Brom's 5-2 win at Chelsea last weekend.
The messages were reported to West Midlands police, and West Brom offered their full support to Robinson.
Speaking ahead of Monday night's Premier League meeting with Southampton, Allardyce said, "We’ve had two other incidents in that area, but nothing bad as Callum got – I think it’s over 70 messages from, apparently, 20 different [accounts] on Instagram.
“We’ve had a great response from the police and our club supports them in every way we possibly can. Within the football world we’ve all gone forward in a very positive manner, but outside the law is where these lads live.
“The solution can only be brought about by people in the hierarchy of government and the people who run these sites, who are clearly neglecting their responsibility to cut out these forms of discrimination and racist remarks.
“People hiding behind false sites and posting obscene messages like this, in the world that we live in today and with the technology we have today, is simply not good enough."
Sadly it's not the first time that Robinson has received racist abuse online.
Last year, the ex-Preston forward told OTB Sports that he was subjected to sickening taunts after declaring for Ireland, "When I was at Preston - when I first joined the squad - I had a few tweets, and stuff like that," Robinson said.
Sam Allardyce has offered an update on the fitness of defenders Dara O'Shea 🇮🇪 and Branislav Ivanovic 🇷🇸
— West Bromwich Albion (@WBA) April 8, 2021
"But I haven't had nothing face-to-face, or heard anything from the fans or crowd-wise.
"With Twitter, as you know, you never get a face on the other side of it. Obviously we got them tweets deleted because you want that kicked out, we don't want any of that."
Allardyce backed his player on Thursday, saying, "I’m glad to say Callum is a pretty strong character, not that it hasn’t hurt him, of course it has.
"The police have been brilliant interviewing him, they will do their best and the club are trying their best."
The Baggies boss also praised the social media blackout proposed by Swansea City, and later seconded by Birmingham City.
Liverpool hat-trick for Alex Ferguson on opening day at Aintree
Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!
Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.
