Manchester City have condemned the ‘vile’ racial abuse directed at Kyle Walker following Wednesday’s defeat to Juventus.
A statement from Manchester City read: “Manchester City strongly condemns the racist abuse that Kyle Walker was subject to online following last night’s fixture.
“We refuse to tolerate discrimination of any kind, regardless of whether that be in stadiums or online.
“We will be offering Kyle our full support following the disgusting treatment he has received.”
Walker himself has also spoken out, sharing an image of a message he received, which read: ‘Bro, you can f*** around and die, you stupid a** n****.'”
He added: “No one should ever be subject to the sort of vile, racist and threatening abuse I have received online since last night’s match. @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 working as a team to do better, to improve, and to turn the corner together.”
The FA have also released a statement saying: “We are incredibly disappointed that Kyle has been subject to such abhorrent abuse on social media.
“Discrimination of any kind is completely unacceptable.
“We support strong action by the authorities and social media companies.”
Kyle Walker has made 14 appearances in all competitions this season. He has enjoyed a distinguished career, winning the Champions League, six Premier League titles, two FA Cups, four League Cups, and numerous other trophies during his time with Manchester City.
He was appointed Man City captain at the start of this season, joining a leadership group that includes Kevin De Bruyne, Ruben Dias, Rodri, Bernardo Silva, and Ilkay Gundogan.
However, despite his leadership, Man City were unable to prevent defeat against Juventus in midweek.
Goals from Dusan Vlahovic and Weston McKennie saw City lose 2-0 in Turin, putting their Champions League qualification in jeopardy.
This defeat marks their seventh loss in their last ten outings across all competitions, leaving them in 22nd place in the Champions League table.
With just two group-stage fixtures remaining, they now face the threat of missing out on a place in the playoffs.
Man City will look to bounce back this weekend when they host cross-city rivals Manchester United at the Etihad Stadium.
They will then face another tough challenge before Christmas with a trip to Aston Villa on Saturday, December 21.
Read more: Liverpool receive injury boost as Kostas Tsimikas returns to training
Liverpool planning to hold talks with Norwich City over Kaide Gordon
Why Federico Chiesa and Diogo Jota train away from Liverpool group