Mikel Arteta SLAMS social media trolls after Kai Havertz’s wife was sent sickening abuse following Arsenal’s FA Cup defeat by Manchester United
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An emotional Mikel Arteta criticized social media trolls who sent sickening insults to Kai Havertz’s wife after Arsenal crashed out of the FA Cup, calling on the football industry to make it ‘banned’.
Havertz missed a penalty in Arsenal’s FA Cup defeat to Manchester United on Sunday before his pregnant wife Sophia reposted two disgusting messages she had received on Instagram.
Some posts focused on her pregnancy, with her describing one comment as “shocking” before adding: “I hope you’re so embarrassed.”
Arsenal has reported the abuse to the police and is working with specialist data company Signify to identify the perpetrators.
Ahead of Arsenal’s north London derby match against Tottenham on Wednesday, Arteta said: ‘It’s unbelievable, to be honest. We really need to do something about it, because accepting that and hiding it has terrible consequences.
‘It’s something we need to remove from the game because it’s so cynical and dependent on the outcome of an action. There is no other sector like it.
Mikel Arteta has criticized social media trolls who sent sickening insults to Kai Havertz’s wife
Havertz’s wife, Sophia Weber, was abused on Instagram after Arsenal crashed out of the FA Cup at the hands of Manchester United
She described one comment as “shocking” before adding: “I hope you’re so embarrassed.”
Havertz missed the crucial penalty in the shootout, having won a penalty earlier in the match
‘When we played Ipswich on December 27, we won 1-0 and Kai Havertz scored. The entire stadium then sings the ‘Waka, Waka’ (his chant). That was 20 days ago. Where is the perspective?
‘We are all responsible. You (the media) are responsible, everyone is responsible for the story and the way we talk. We can’t look anywhere else. That is a very serious matter. It affects me. It affects him and everyone involved in the industry.
“We can accept it and say it’s our job, but there are certain boundaries and the line has to be drawn. We pay a lot of attention to technology and what’s next in football. The next thing in football is that this should be banned. It can’t happen. That’s all.’
On Gabriel Jesus, who left on a stretcher on Sunday, Arteta added: “It doesn’t look good at all. We still have to assess a specialist, so we will probably know more information this afternoon.
“I don’t want to confirm anything until we get the final report this afternoon. But we were very worried after the game and we are today too.’
