Racist abuse ‘only makes me stronger’

Paul Pogba says he is ready to fight against racist abuse after the Manchester United star and his teammate Marcus Rashford were subjected to social media taunts following their penalty misses. Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham and Reading’s Yakou Meite were also recently the target of racist abuse on social media. “My ancestors and my parents suffered for my generation to be free today, to work, to take the bus, to play football,” Pogba wrote on Instagram on Sunday. “Racist insults are ignorance and can only make me stronger and motivate me to fight for the next generation.” Pogba’s message was accompanied by a photograph showing him holding his baby alongside portraits of his late father Fassou Antoine and civil rights activist Martin Luther King, United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer condemned the incidents, saying: “I’m just lost for words if it keeps going. We keep having all these campaigns ‘No to Racism’ and it keeps hiding behind fake identities. It’s just crazy that we talk about this in 2019.”