SOCIAL MEDIA giant Facebook has said it will provide a “new tool” to combat vulgar online abuse after Raheem Sterling was targeted after his Manchester City team beat Paris St Germain to reach the prestigious Champions League final midweek. The England star was then targeted with racist abuse on Instagram, who are owned by Facebook.

In a statement issued to Sportsmail, a Facebook spokesman said: ‘The racist abuse sent to Raheem Sterling is unacceptable and we do not want it on Instagram. We have removed the comment and taken action against the responsible account.

‘As part of our ongoing work in this  space, this week we’re rolling out new tools to help prevent people seeing abusive messages from strangers. We’re committed to doing what we can to keep our community safe.’

Last October, Sterling demanded that social media companies hold online trolls accountable after a study revealed the shocking levels of racism footballers face. Some 50% of the abuse found in the study was sent to Sterling, Crystal Palace’s Wilfried Zaha and Wycombe’s Adebayo Akinfenwa. The players received significantly more abuse after being outspoken on Black Lives Matter.

Sterling said: “Football and the social media platforms need to step up, show real leadership and take proper action.” He added: “The technology is there to make a difference, but I’m increasingly questioning if there is the will.”

The study was conducted by England’s Professional Football Association and data science company, Signify Group. It analysed 825,515 tweets directed at 44 selected players, across six weeks of Project Restart.  Over 3,000 explicitly abusive messages were found.

The study was supported by anti-racism discrimination organisation, Kick It Out. Sanjay Bhandari, chair of Kick It Out (KIO) said: “This report confirms what we have known for a while – that social media can be a battleground of hate with few consequences for abusers. We also know that players and the public who witness this hate are victims.

“We need government, law enforcement, the leagues and clubs to commit to working together to fill in those cracks in the enforcement system.”

KIO recommended that platforms recognise emojis as a potential form of abuse. They also want legislation introduced so there are tighter controls and stricter punishments for abusers.