Luton have hit out after striker Elijah Adebayo was again targeted by racist abuse on social media, asking ‘is it ever going to stop?’ in a strongly-worded statement.
Adebayo received a discriminatory direct message on Instagram on Wednesday night during the Hatters’ 2-1 defeat to Sunderland, in which he scored his first goal of the season.
This incident is the latest in a long line of abuse, both in person and online, targeting the 26-year-old. In October 2022, Luton called for the discrimination to stop after reporting three separate cases in less than a year.
The club again spoke out last October, following their 1-0 home defeat by Tottenham, when he received a series of messages via social media.
At the end of that month, the Premier League said they had received further reports of racism towards the player following a 2-2 draw with Nottingham Forest.
Following the latest incident, Luton released another statement on their club website titled: “Is it ever going to stop?
“Twelve months ago Elijah Adebayo was subjected to racist abuse on social media. A wave of vile and disgusting messages pouring into his account from faceless racists.
“Fast forward a year later and it has happened again.
“At 8.28pm on Wednesday evening, an account in the UK on Instagram messaged Elijah with a racist comment.
“After Elijah notified us following last night’s game with Sunderland, in which he scored his first goal of the season, we reported the incident to the Police and to Meta. It is now being investigated.
“Just like we said a year ago, and just like we will do whenever a player or staff member is subjected to abuse, we will stand by and support Elijah unequivocally.”
All three of Luton’s statements regarding racism against Adebayo have come during Black History Month, which aims to celebrate and commemorate the achievements of people from black backgrounds.
Sky Sports News has contacted Bedfordshire Police and Meta (Instagram’s parent company) for comment.
