Kai Havertz’s wife, Sophia, revealed the abusive messages she received on social media following Arsenal’s loss to Manchester United in the FA Cup on Sunday.
On Monday, she posted two updates on her Instagram story, including one in which someone threatened to “slaughter” her unborn baby.
Arsenal were eliminated from the cup after losing to United in a penalty shootout. Havertz, the German striker, missed a chance to secure the win at the Emirates Stadium when he fired over from a close range and later had his penalty saved during the shootout.
Sophia Havertz voiced her outrage over the vile abuse she faced after the match.
“For anyone to think it’s okay to write something like this is so shocking to me… I hope you are ashamed of yourself,” she posted.
In response to the threat to her baby, she posted: “I’m not sure what to even say but please guys be more respectful. We are better than this…”
Football authorities and law enforcement have been working to address online abuse directed at players.
Last year, the Football Association of England announced it was allocating approximately £25,000 ($32,000) to support police efforts in tackling such incidents during the European Championship.
During the 2021 Euros, England players Bukayo Saka, Marcus Rashford, and Jadon Sancho faced racial abuse on social media after missing penalties in a shootout loss to Italy in the final.
FIFA, the global governing body, has implemented a Social Media Protection Service (SMPS) to safeguard players, teams, and officials from online harassment by ensuring their social media accounts remain free from hate.
According to SMPS, during the 2023 Women’s World Cup, 20% of the players were targeted with discriminatory, abusive, or threatening messages, with about half of these being anti-gay, sexual, or sexist in nature.
