Newcastle ‌United on Monday condemned racist abuse and threats of violence received by midfielder Joe Willock, saying they will support any investigation to identify the person responsible and hold them accountable.

England midfielder Willock, who is of Caribbean descent, had shared a screenshot of Instagram messages he received from a user who racially abused ‌him and his family, and threatened his life, ‌following Newcastle’s 2-0 Premier League win over Crystal Palace on Sunday.

The statement read: “We are disgusted by racist abuse received by Joe Willock on Instagram on Sunday evening.

“Following our win over Crystal Palace, Joe received several direct messages from an Instagram account that included racial slurs and deeply disturbing threats of violence towards Joe and his family.

“Sadly, Joe has faced this before. Each time, we have acted quickly to support him and that has been our immediate priority again.

“We have swiftly reported this matter to the police and we will fully support any investigation to identify the person responsible and hold them accountable, wherever they are.

“This can only happen with meaningful action from Meta, Instagram’s owners. We urge Meta to give the police all the information they need to identify the perpetrator, and to do so quickly.

“Removing content and applying message filters is not enough. Social media companies must do more to protect users and support the prosecution of those who seek to break the law on their platforms.

“We stand firmly with Joe and anyone else who faces this kind of abuse.”