Police investigate racist abuse targeting children of former Red Djibril Cissé

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These are worrying times, Reds. It has emerged that the sons of former Liverpool forward Djibril Cissé have been targeted with racist abuse in a slew of social media messages.

Speaking to the Sunday Mirror, the Frenchman’s ex-wife Jude Cissé revealed that their two aspiring footballers Cassius, 13, and Liverpool youth team player Prince, aged 11, have been the subject of racial slurs and abusive comments.

The comments included references to a match were banana skins were reprehensibly thrown at their father, Djibril Cissé, as well as explicit threats and deplorable racist insults.

In comments to the Sunday Mirror, Ms. Cissé said: “The abuse my boys have suffered is beyond belief. What kind of sick individual would target a child like that? It has left them talking about the colour of their skin and feeling different.”

Jude told the newspaper that ex-husband Cissé is “absolutely fuming” at the racist abuse of his sons and is “fully supportive of the ongoing investigation”.

“I have to stand up to it for the sake of them. I want to send a clear message that racism and online abuse is not, and will never be, acceptable,” the boys’ mother added.

Heartbreakingly, she also said that, “The messages were horrendous, I was utterly horrified. My boys are now conscious of being treated differently. They are talking a lot about the colour of their skin and feeling different.”

Cheshire Police are apparently investigating whether a racially aggravated public order offence has been committed. Their cyber unit are tracking different IP locations and multiple user names to catch the perpatrators of this vile abuse.

Racist abuse in football is depressingly under the spotlight at the moment after a range of incidents.

Last month, racist chanting of England players during the Euro 2020 qualifers at Montenegro caused Raheem Sterling and Danny Rose to speak out. Equally, Juventus forward Moise Kean was racially abused in a game against Cagliari earlier in April.

On Saturday, West Ham confirmed they would ban a pack of supporters who filmed anti-Semitic chants before their game against Manchester United.

Earlier this week, there was the filmed, Islamophobic and racist abuse of Chelsea fans chanting about Mo Salah and even last night a Ligue 1 game between Dijon and Amiens had to be halted after visiting captain Prince Gouano was the target of yet more monkey chants.

There is no place for racism anywhere, at any time, for anyone – let alone in football.

It is a distressing state of affairs that even children as young as Cissé’s, who are eager to become professional footballers, will be coming into a world like this.

So much more needs to be done to completely eradicate this from society – in football, it starts with the game’s bosses coming down hard with everything have on perpetrators, police sentencing these hateful fans, and players being supported with whatever ways they choose to face up to it.

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