AN Asian-origin British footballer has faced online racial abuse.
Mansfield Town defender Mal Benning, 26, said he was left stunned by a racist tweet on Monday (13).
Commenting on the tweet he received, he said: "It made me feel a bit sick when I first saw it. The language that was used was quite disheartening. I was shocked".
Benning earned acclamation across the game for highlighting the online abuse by quoting the tweet with the comment: "Not experienced much 'racism' as one of very few Asian players in the professional game. But there is no need for this no matter what race you are or what team you support."
Benning was one of the Asian-origin players in league football in the UK.
Benning said he was taken aback by the tweet as he had never previously experienced racism as a football player in the game.
He was quoted by Sky Sports News: "I finished training, went home as everyone does and I just received a Twitter notification and thought it was just general football stuff”.
"But when I looked at it - a racially abusive tweet - I was quite stunned and taken aback because it is the first time I have experienced it in professional football.
"The first thing I did was contact the head of media at Mansfield and asked him what I should do. He gave me the right advice which was to raise awareness about it, which I did."
Born in Birmingham to Punjabi family who came to Britain from India, Benning hopes what he has witnessed does not discourage aspiring young Asian players who are on their way to achieve success in the game.
When asked about the reaction he has received in the days since, Benning said: "It was superb. As everyone knows, I tagged the PFA and Kick It Out, and both were first class as were the chairman, the manager, the CEO and the fans.
"The players at Mansfield have also been top drawer and made sure I was okay. The support I got from everyone - including other football fans - was superb."
The professional football player has urged the social media giant to focus more to stop such abuses and regulate such accounts.
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During the hearing, Clifford denied all the charges except for the rape charge, which was added to the indictment at the session. (Photo: Hertfordshire Police /Handout via REUTERS)
Man pleads not guilty to murder of BBC presenter's family
A 26-year-old man has pleaded not guilty to charges of murdering the wife and two daughters of BBC sports commentator John Hunt in a crossbow and knife attack.
Kyle Clifford, who also faces charges of rape, appeared via video link at Cambridge Crown Court on Thursday.
Clifford, arrested in July after a manhunt, is charged with three counts of murder, one count each of rape and false imprisonment, and two counts of possessing offensive weapons – a 10-inch knife and a crossbow.
During the hearing, Clifford denied all the charges except for the rape charge, which was added to the indictment at the session.
He is expected to enter a plea for that charge at a later date.
The victims were Carol Hunt, 61, wife of horseracing commentator John Hunt, and their daughters Louise, 25, and Hannah, 28.
An earlier hearing revealed that Louise had been found tied up and that both she and her sister had been shot with a crossbow, while their mother had been stabbed with a knife.
The fatal attack occurred at the family’s home in Bushey, a commuter town near Watford, northwest of London.
(With inputs from AFP)