Chelsea’s Karen Carney has spoken out against the abuse she received on social media, calling it abhorrent and upsetting before calling on the pertinent authorities to take action and ensure it does not happen to anyone again.
The Blues Women’s skipper received rape and death threats via social media platform Instagram following their Women’s Champions League victory over Fiorentina on Wednesday, a game in which she netted the decisive penalty.
“I would like to take a moment to address the vile messages aimed at myself and my teammates on social media this week,” the Chelsea Women’s captain said before saying that such a sickening situation does not happen to anyone again.
“This kind of abuse is abhorrent, totally unacceptable and very upsetting. It was swiftly reported by the club as is standard practice. I now trust it will be dealt with by the correct authorities to ensure this doesn’t happen again to either myself or anyone else,” continued Carney.
— Karen Carney MBE (@karenjcarney) October 19, 2018
The 133-capped England international also thanked those who have offered messages of support to fans and the media, as well as to the west London club and the FA for swiftly reporting the abuse to the relevant authorities.
“I would like to thank all those who have offered messages of support, including the fans, media and others within the game,” added the 31-year-old midfielder.
“I’d also like to thank Chelsea and the FA who were swift to report those responsible to both Instagram and the police.
“I’d now like to concentrate on preparing for our game against Birmingham on Sunday.”
It was England manager Phil Neville who highlighted the abuse Carney received via an Instagram post on Wednesday before making another post that revealed rape and death threats on an unnamed England Women player on Thursday.
The FA has also released a statement condemning the vile threats and has joined Neville in urging the police to tackle abuse directed at players on social media while Maurizio Sarri has also spoken out about the issue, calling the threats directed towards Carney disgusting and totally unacceptable.
