Nigerian Striker Suffers Racist Abuse In Scottish Cup Game

Ireland-born Nigerian striker Jonathan Afolabi who is on-loan to Dundee FC from Celtic, received ‘vile’ online racist abuse following Saturday’s 3-2 Scottish Cup win over Lowland League side Bonnyrigg Rose.

Afolabi, 20, 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 Afolabi came off the bench to score a stoppage-time equaliser and send the game to extra-time.

Also Read: Onuachu Unhappy Despite Netting 19th League Goal

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.

A statement on the Dundee website read: “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.

“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.”

Born and raised in Dublin to Nigerian parents, Republic of Ireland, Afolabi played his youth football with Shamrock Rovers and St Joseph’s Boys before earning a move to the Academy of Premier League club Southampton.

On 21 August 2019, Afolabi joined Scottish Premiership Champions Celtic but is yet to make an appearance for the club.

He has played for the Republic of Ireland right up to Under-21 level. On 31 July 2019 he was named in the 2019 UEFA European Under-19 Championship Team of the Tournament .

By James Agberebi