Sophia Havertz, wife of footballer Kai Havertz, has shared abusive messages she received on social media following Arsenal’s FA Cup loss to Manchester United on Sunday. Among the messages was a threat to “slaughter” her unborn baby, which she revealed in a post on her Instagram story on Monday.
Arsenal was eliminated from the competition after losing on penalties to the reigning champions. Kai Havertz, Germany’s striker, missed a crucial chance to secure victory during regular play and later had a penalty saved in the shootout.
Expressing her outrage at the abuse, Sophia Havertz wrote, “For anyone to think it’s okay to write something like this is so shocking to me… I hope you are ashamed of yourself.”
Addressing the threat to her baby, she added, “I’m not sure what to even say but please, guys, be more respectful. We are better than this.”
Efforts to combat online abuse in football have been ongoing. England’s Football Association (FA) announced last year that it allocated £25,000 to help police address incidents during the European Championship.
In 2021, England players Bukayo Saka, Marcus Rashford, and Jadon Sancho faced racial abuse after missing penalties in the Euros final against Italy.
FIFA has since introduced a Social Media Protection Service (SMPS) aimed at shielding players, teams, and officials from online hate.
During the 2023 Women’s World Cup, SMPS reported that 20% of players received discriminatory or abusive messages, with around half of the content being homophobic, sexual, or sexist in nature.
Faridah Abdulkadiri
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