Paul Pogba is only ‘stronger’ after he was subjected to racist abuse on social media, says Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Pogba missed a second-half penalty in United’s 1-1 draw with Wolverhampton Wanderers on Monday night, seeing his effort saved by goalkeeper Rui Patricio.
The United midfielder was targeted by a handful of Twitter accounts for his miss, with the club describing his treatment as “disgusting”.
United are looking to meet with Twitter to discuss how the platform can protect players from receiving racist abuse online.
“Paul’s fine, Paul’s a strong character. He’s a strong character and it makes him stronger,” he said.
1/22 Rui Patricio – 7
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2/22 Matt Doherty – 5
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3/22 Ryan Bennett – 4
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4/22 Conor Coady – 5
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5/22 Willy Boly – 6
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6/22 Jonny Otto – 6
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7/22 Leander Dendoncker – 6
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8/22 Ruben Neves – 8
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9/22 Joao Moutinho – 6
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10/22 Diogo Jota – 6
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11/22 Raul Jimenez – 7
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12/22 David De Gea – 6
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13/22 Aaron Wan-Bissaka – 7
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14/22 Harry Maguire – 6
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15/22 Victor Lindelof – 6
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16/22 Luke Shaw – 6
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17/22 Scott McTominay – 6
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18/22 Paul Pogba – 6
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19/22 Daniel James – 6
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20/22 Jesse Lingard – 6
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21/22 Marcus Rashford – 7
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22/22 Anthony Martial – 7
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1/22 Rui Patricio – 7
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2/22 Matt Doherty – 5
Action Images via Reuters
3/22 Ryan Bennett – 4
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4/22 Conor Coady – 5
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5/22 Willy Boly – 6
AFP/Getty Images
6/22 Jonny Otto – 6
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7/22 Leander Dendoncker – 6
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8/22 Ruben Neves – 8
Action Images via Reuters
9/22 Joao Moutinho – 6
AP
10/22 Diogo Jota – 6
Getty Images
11/22 Raul Jimenez – 7
EPA
12/22 David De Gea – 6
Getty Images
13/22 Aaron Wan-Bissaka – 7
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14/22 Harry Maguire – 6
EPA
15/22 Victor Lindelof – 6
AP
16/22 Luke Shaw – 6
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17/22 Scott McTominay – 6
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18/22 Paul Pogba – 6
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19/22 Daniel James – 6
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20/22 Jesse Lingard – 6
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21/22 Marcus Rashford – 7
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22/22 Anthony Martial – 7
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“When you speak to him he’s fine and I just cannot believe we’re still here in 2019 talking about these instances.
“Social media is a place where people can hide behind fake identities, it’s not down to me to change it but there are so many Ole Gunnar Solskjaers on Twitter I know it’s not me.
“We’ve got to do something about it and the authorities have got to do something about it. You feel sorry for [the abusers], they must have problems themselves.”
Like United, Solskjaer wants greater protection for his players from social media companies when they are victims of “serious allegations, serious incidents”.
“Sometimes you get annoyed, what can we do about it as Manchester United? We’re not going to ban our players on social media,” he said.
“We have to spread the good word, we can use it to spread good and have to stop those incidents.”
