Wolves' Arokodare Third Player Racially Abused This Weekend
Tolu Arokodare joined Wolves from Genk for £24m in September.
Wolves have expressed their disgust after striker Tolu Arokodare was subjected to racist abuse on social media by multiple individuals following their 1-0 defeat at Crystal Palace.
The Nigeria international and Wolves shared several screenshots of private messages Arokodare received after Sunday's Premier League match, during which he had a first-half penalty saved.
This incident occurred just one day after Burnley midfielder Hannibal Mejbri and Chelsea defender Wesley Fofana were both targeted with racist abuse on Instagram following their 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge.
"It's still unbelievable to me that we're playing in a time where people have so much freedom to communicate such racism without any consequences," Arokodare wrote on his Instagram story.
"These individuals should have no place in our game and collectively we have to take action to punish everyone who taints the sport like this, no matter who they are."
Wolves issued a statement saying:
"There is no place for racism – in football, online, or anywhere in society. We condemn this abhorrent and unlawful behaviour in the strongest possible terms.
Tolu has our full and unwavering support. No player should be subjected to such hatred simply for doing their job. We stand firmly alongside him, and alongside all footballers who are forced to endure this abuse from anonymous accounts acting with apparent impunity.
The club has reported the posts to the relevant platforms and will work with the Premier League and the authorities to help identify those responsible and ensure appropriate action is taken. We will continue to take a zero-tolerance approach to all forms of discrimination."
'Social media companies must do more'
On Saturday, Wesley Fofana commented on the ongoing issue of racism in football, stating:
"2026, it's still the same thing, nothing changes. These people are never punished.
You create big campaigns against racism, but nobody actually does anything."
Hannibal Mejbri also urged awareness, saying people should "educate yourself and your kids."
These recent cases of racist abuse come shortly after the alleged racial abuse of Real Madrid winger Vinicius Jr during a Champions League match against Benfica, which UEFA is currently investigating.
The Premier League condemned the abuse directed at Fofana and Mejbri, stating that any individuals identified and found guilty of discrimination will face the strongest possible consequences, including club bans and legal prosecution.
Anti-discrimination organisation Kick It Out expressed their support for Fofana and Mejbri but emphasized that more action is needed to combat racial abuse online.
"Football is working together to tackle this issue alongside the UK Football Policing Unit and Ofcom, but social media companies must do more to offer protections to players and help improve accountability when incidents occur," they said.
In response to the abuse received by Fofana and Mejbri, a spokesperson for Meta told :
"No-one should be subjected to racist abuse, and we remove this content when we find it.
No one thing will stop racist behaviour overnight, but we'll continue working to protect our community from abuse and cooperate with police investigations."
Last November, a BBC investigation revealed that over 2,000 extremely abusive social media posts, including death and rape threats, were sent about managers and players in the Premier League and Women's Super League during a single weekend.
In August, the opening Premier League game between Liverpool and Bournemouth was halted in the first half after then Bournemouth forward Antoine Semenyo reported being racially abused by someone in the Anfield crowd.
A Liverpool man has denied the abuse allegations, with his trial scheduled for April.
In January, Newcastle United reported to the police after midfielder Joe Willock was subjected to "disgusting" racial abuse and "deeply disturbing threats" on social media.
Tottenham forward Mathys Tel also faced racist abuse on social media after missing a penalty in their Super Cup shootout defeat by Paris St-Germain in August.
England defender Jess Carter was targeted with racist abuse during Euro 2025 in July.
Additionally, England internationals Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho, and Bukayo Saka were all subjected to racist abuse following the Euro 2020 final.
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