Kyle Walker: Man City defender suffers racist abuse and says Instagram and authorities must act

Kyle Walker has said “Instagram and the authorities need to stop this happening” after he was racially abused following Manchester City’s 2-0 defeat at Juventus in the Champions League.

Walker played the full 90 minutes in Turin on Wednesday as City fell to a seventh defeat in 10 games across all competitions.

The 34-year-old made his appeal for action on an Instagram story where he used a screenshot of a racist message he had received.

“No-one should ever be subject to the sort of vile, racist and threatening abuse I have received online since last night’s match,” Walker wrote on Instagram.

“Instagram and the authorities need to stop this happening for the sake of all who are suffering this abuse. It is never acceptable.

“To our fans, we will continue to work as a team to do better, to improve, and turn the corner together.”

It is not the first time the England defender has highlighted such abuse online. In April 2021 he similarly shared a screenshot and called for action, yet he suffered further abuse the following month.

Instagram said around the time it was continuing to work on measures to tackle online abuse.

Premier League champions Manchester City said they “strongly condemn” the racist abuse that Walker was subjected to.

“We refuse to tolerate discrimination of any kind, regardless of whether that be in stadiums or online,” the club said.

“We will be offering Kyle our full support following the disgusting treatment he has received.”

Walker captained Manchester City in Turin and has made 315 appearances for the club since joining from Tottenham in 2017.

The England international has won 15 major trophies during his time at the Etihad, including six Premier League titles and the Champions League.

BBC Sport has contacted Meta, the company which owns Instagram, for comment.