Joe Willock has broken his silence after facing appalling online abuse, exposing a deeper issue within football.
His powerful response, backed by his club, highlights a battle that extends far beyond the pitch – one that social media giants can no longer ignore.
Joe Willock has spoken out about the racist abuse he suffered online after Newcastle United’s recent defeat to Fulham, describing those responsible as “lowlifes” and calling for stronger action from social media platforms.
The abuse, which included threats against his family, led to Northumbria Police being contacted and Eddie Howe holding an emergency meeting to check on Willock’s wellbeing.
The Newcastle midfielder, who scored twice against Birmingham City to send his side into the FA Cup last 16, has made it clear that criticism of his performances is fair game, but racial abuse crosses an unacceptable line. “Everyone has an opinion on your performance,” Willock said. “You can tell me I’m not good enough, you pay to watch us and that’s your opinion. But when you bring race into it or bring your family into it, that’s when it crosses the line.”
Willock has experienced racist abuse multiple times but said the severity of the latest incident left him no choice but to speak out. “Maybe sometimes, it’s lowlifes, you know? They have nothing else to say and the first thing they come for is your colour,” he added. “If you are not only coming for my race but threatening my family, wishing bad things on them… That’s when I have to put it out there and report it. You could actually endanger someone. If you have that hatred, I had to do it.”
The ex-Arsenal youngster, who rose through the club’s academy before making 78 senior appearances and scoring 11 goals, has praised Newcastle’s swift response but insists the issue must be tackled at a higher level. “Newcastle have been excellent, they’ve reported it to the police and the right people. But we seem to be going around in circles. Someone gets it, makes a big deal out of it, then it happens again, then it goes quiet. And it happens again. It’s come to a point where it’s taken out of the game, and the sooner, the better.”
Willock has now called on social media giants Meta and X Corp to implement stronger measures to prevent racial abuse. “From the club side, they gave me everything. They tried to sort it out as soon as possible – but it’s bigger than that. It has to be clamped down upon from the social media side. From the higher people in the social media companies.
“It’s not going to stop if we don’t do it. Luckily, I have a family and great team behind me who support me. I worry for the boys who don’t have that and who receive those messages, it could be detrimental.”
Willock’s message is clear: the burden to stop racism should not fall on players to simply endure it. He believes platforms must do more to block racist messages before they reach players, saying: “For me, social media is the problem. It’s the only way they (abusers and trolls) can contact us. If they were sending in letters, it wouldn’t be the same thing. If they have a platform to say these things, social media needs to cut it out.
“I don’t know how they do it but I’m sure they can that they block these messages. That would be a great start to eradicating it.”