Dundee have issued a statement in response to the online abuse that Jonathan Afolabi suffered after the 3-2 Scottish Cup win over Bonnyrigg Rose although the player isn’t named in the club statement.
The on loan Celtic striker came on as a second half substitute and scored the stoppage time goal that forced the tie into extra-time and saved Dundee from one of their most humiliating ever results.
Despite falling behind to a second penalty for Bonnyrigg James McPake’s side battled back to secure a place in this morning’s Third Round draw.
It was a fantastic match, shown live on BBC Scotland it provided far better entertainment and drama than the combined might of Arsenal, Newcastle and Manchester United but while watching it some poisoned minds decided to take to Instagram to abuse the young footballer who had saved their side from humiliation.
Soon after 9am this morning Dundee stated:
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.
Before last night’s match both teams took the knee, Afolabi joined Dundee on loan in September, last week he scored a penalty in the 3-1 win over Hearts that kept alive their hopes of winning the one automatic promotion place.
