NEWCASTLE contacted police at the weekend after midfielder Joe Willock found himself the target of an “appalling” racist online attack on Saturday evening.

The 25-year-old revealed he was abused on Instagram in the wake of a disappointing 2-1 Premier League defeat by Fulham at St James’ Park, the Magpies’ second in succession following Bournemouth’s 4-1 victory on Tyneside two weeks earlier.

A club statement released today read: “Newcastle United strongly condemns the appalling racist abuse received by Joe Willock on Instagram on Saturday evening. There is no room for racism anywhere.

“Joe has been given the club’s full support and we will continue to do all we can to ensure the welfare of our players, staff and supporters.

“The club has reported the abuse to Meta — the owners of Instagram — and urges all social media companies to do more to eradicate this behaviour from their platforms.

“The club has also reported the abuse to the police and will support the strongest possible action against those responsible.”

Willock’s team-mate Alexander Isak posted on X today: “We win together, we lose together! Always with you brother @Joewillock. There’s no room for racism.”

The Premier League said it was “appalled” by the abuse, adding on X: “We are working with the club and authorities to support Joe. We will investigate and where possible take action against any individual we are able to identify.”

The midfielder had come off the bench as a 64th-minute replacement for the injured Joelinton as his side looked to rebuild following Raul Jimenez’s equaliser, which had cancelled out Jacob Murphy’s first-half opener.

Willock might have restored his side’s lead but missed his kick as he attempted to convert Isak’s cross and Rodrigo Muniz completed a miserable afternoon for the Magpies when he stabbed home fellow substitute Andreas Pereira’s free-kick to win it for the visitors eight minutes from time.

As preparation for Wednesday night’s Carabao Cup semi-final second-leg clash with Arsenal, into which Newcastle will take a 2-0 lead, it could hardly have been more frustrating for head coach Eddie Howe, who saw his side struggle to exercise any real control for long periods.