Police investigating online racist abuse of Arsenal's Saka
Arsenal's Bukayo Saka reacts after missing a penalty kick during the English Premier League soccer match between West Ham United and Arsenal at the London stadium in London, Sunday, April 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth) Credit: AP/Kirsty Wigglesworth
LONDON — Police in London are investigating a racially aggravated tweet about Bukayo Saka that was posted after the Arsenal midfielder’s missed penalty in a Premier League game.
A message posted on Twitter soon after Arsenal’s 2-2 draw with West Ham on Sunday showed Saka with his face made to look like a monkey, alongside the words: “This clown has cost us the league.”
Under the post, another Twitter user tagged the Metropolitan Police and said the message was a hate crime.
“This has already been reported and is currently being investigated,” the police force replied on Tuesday.
The account of the person who posted the message was not publicly viewable as of Tuesday.
Saka shot wide from the penalty spot when the score was 2-1 early in the second half. West Ham equalized minutes later to leave Arsenal with a four-point lead over Manchester City, having started the weekend with an advantage of six.
It isn’t the first time Saka has been racially abused on social media after failing to score a penalty.
Arsenal's Bukayo Saka fails to score from penalty kick during the English Premier League soccer match between West Ham United and Arsenal at the London stadium in London, Sunday, April 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth) Credit: AP/Kirsty Wigglesworth
He did the same for England in a penalty shootout loss to Italy in the European Championship final in 2021. Saka was abused along with fellow Black players Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho, who also didn’t score their penalties.
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