Wolves share 'abhorrent' racist abuse aimed at Tolu Arokodare in furious statement after defeat at Crystal Palace

Arokodare joined Wolves in the summer and he played the full 90 minutes against Crystal Palace, and missed a penalty in his side's 1-0 defeat. After the full-time whistle, the 25-year-old took the time to head towards the travelling support and held his hands up in apology.

That act of contrition did not appear to have any impact on the vile trolls who chose to send racist abuse towards the striker.

Wolves posted screenshots of the vile comments alongside a furious statement, which read: "We are disgusted by numerous instances of racist abuse, from multiple perpetrators, directed at Tolu Arokodare on social media following today’s fixture against Crystal Palace.

"There is no place for racism - in football, online, or anywhere in society. We condemn this abhorrent and unlawful behaviour in the strongest possible terms.

"Tolu has our full and unwavering support. No player should be subjected to such hatred simply for doing their job.

"We stand firmly alongside him, and alongside all footballers who are forced to endure this abuse from anonymous accounts acting with apparent impunity.

"The club has reported the posts to the relevant platforms and will work with the Premier League and the authorities to help identify those responsible and ensure appropriate action is taken.

"We will continue to take a zero-tolerance approach to all forms of discrimination."

Arokodare hit out at the racists on social media, too, adding: "It's still unbelievable to me that we're playing in a time where people have so much freedom to communicate such racism without any consequences. These individuals should have no place in our game and collectively we have to take action to punish everyone who taints the sport like this, no matter who they are."

Earlier this weekend, Chelsea and Burnley issued statements after Wesley Fofana and Hannibal Mejbri were both targeted by racists.

Fofana received two yellow cards in the 1-1 draw between the two sides and was sent off late on in the game. The defender then shared the abuse he had received on Instagram and added his own message, which read: "2026, it's still the same thing, nothing changes. These people are never punished. You create big campaigns against racism, but nobody actually does anything."

Burnley midfielder Hannibal Mejbri also revealed he was subjected to racist abuse after the game, which led to a strong response from the Clarets: "The club has reported the post to Instagram's parent company, Meta, and expects strong support from them, together with the Premier League and the police, and will work to ensure that the individual responsible is identified and investigated. There is no place for this in our society and we condemn it unreservedly. The club continues to be unequivocal in its stance – we have a zero-tolerance approach to any form of discrimination. Hannibal will receive the full backing from the club and from the Burnley fans, who we have already seen condemning the abuse. There is no room for racism."

Sunderland have also been forced to issue a statement after Romaine Mundle was also subjected to vile abuse after their 3-1 home defeat to Fulham on Sunday.

The club wrote: "Sunderland AFC is appalled by the vile online racist abuse directed at Romaine Mundle following today’s Premier League fixture against Fulham.

"The abhorrent behaviour displayed by multiple individuals is unacceptable and will not be tolerated by the Club under any circumstances. There is no place for racism in our society, and we stand with Romaine, who has our full support.

"The Club is actively working with the relevant authorities and online platforms to identify those responsible, and we will take the strongest possible action available to us.

"These individuals do not represent Sunderland AFC, our values, or our community - and they are not welcome on Wearside."

The Premier League have also sent two separate anti-racism messages in response to the abuse directed at Arokodare and Mundle. 

They wrote on X: "We are appalled by the unacceptable online racist abuse targeted at Wolves’ Tolu Arokodare. There are serious consequences for anybody found guilty and we will offer the club and player our full support with investigations. Football is for everyone – there is no room for racism."

Relating to Mundle, the Premier League added: "We join Sunderland in condemning the abhorrent online racist abuse targeted at Romaine Mundle. There are serious consequences for anybody found guilty of discrimination and we will offer our full support with their investigations. Football is for everyone – there is no room for racism."