Everton have referred racist abuse directed at Amadou Onana to the police.
Onana, 22, was targeted with abuse following Everton’s 4-0 Premier League defeat by Aston Villa on Saturday.
The Belgium international shared a screenshot of an abusive message he received on his Instagram and Everton have referred the incident to the United Kingdom Football Policing Unit.
“Everton Football Club strongly condemns any form of racist and discriminatory abuse towards our players,” a club statement to The Athletic added on Monday.
“The club is aware of a racist post targeted at Amadou Onana. Such abuse is vile and will not and should not be tolerated. The club is conducting an investigation to identify the individual responsible and will also be supporting the Police with any investigation they conduct.
“We must all take a zero-tolerance stance by reporting such behaviour to social media platforms and the authorities. Racism has no place online, in our stadia or in our communities.”
The Athletic has also contacted Meta, which owns Instagram, and the Merseyside Police for comment.
