The wife of footballer Kai Havertz has shared on social media offensive messages she received after Arsenal’s defeat to Manchester United in the FA Cup on Sunday.
On Monday, Sophia Havertz shared two posts on her Instagram, including one in which someone threatened to “kill” her unborn child.
Arsenal were eliminated from the cup after losing on penalties to holders United. German striker Havertz missed a chance to win the match at the Emirates Stadium, scoring from close range and then saving a penalty in the shootout.
Sophia Havertz expressed her outrage at the violence she suffered after the match.
“That someone would think it’s okay to write something like that is shocking to me… I hope you feel ashamed of yourself,” she wrote.
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In response to the threat against her child, she wrote: “I’m not sure what to even say, but please guys be more respectful. We are better than this…”
Football authorities and police tried to counteract online abuse against players.
The English Football Association said last year it had provided funding of around £25,000 ($32,000) to help police deal with incidents during the European Championships.
During the previous European Championship in 2021, English players Bukayo Saka, Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho were subjected to racist attacks on social media after missing penalties in the final, which they lost on penalties to Italy.
World governing body FIFA has created a social media protection service that it says will protect players, teams and officials from online abuse by protecting their social media channels from hate.
SMPS says that during the 2023 Women’s World Cup, 20 percent of players received discriminatory, abusive or threatening messages, of which about half were homophobic, sexual or sexist in nature.
