Police are investigating online abuse received by the wife of Arsenal forward Kai Havertz.
Sophia Havertz shared on social media direct messages sent to her after Arsenal was knocked out of the FA Cup by Manchester United on Sunday.
“Officers have received a report of malicious communications towards a Hertfordshire resident on Sunday 12 January. Enquiries are underway,” a Hertfordshire Constabulary spokesperson told the English Press Association on Wednesday.
Arsenal lost on penalties to Cup holder United, with Germany striker Havertz missing a chance from close range to win the game at the Emirates Stadium and then failing to score in the shootout.
His wife shared two posts on her Instagram story on Monday, including one where someone threatens to “slaughter” her unborn baby.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta called for action to be taken.
“It’s incredible, honestly. We really have to do something about it, because accepting that and hiding this has terrible consequences," he said. “It’s something we have to eradicate from the game because it’s so cynical and dependent to a result of an action. There is no other industry like this."
FIFA has set up a Social Media Protection Service, which it says protects players, teams and officials from online abuse by keeping their social feeds free from hate.
England’s Football Association said last year it provided funding of around 25,000 pounds ($31,000) to help police clamp down on incidents at the European Championship.
At the previous Euros in 2021, England players Bukayo Saka, Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho were subjected to racial abuse on social media after missing penalties in a shootout defeat to Italy in the final.
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James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
James Robson, The Associated Press
