Harry Maguire's support for racially abused Man Utd team mates after defeat to Sheffield United

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's men fell to a shock 2-1 loss to the Premier League's bottom side Sheffield United at Old Trafford on Wednesday.

That defeat sparked a torrent of online abuse aimed at Man Utd’s players, including racist abuse aimed at defender Tuanzebe, who inadvertently turned home Oliver Burke's winner, and forward Martial.

Racist terms and monkey emojis were put on Instagram comments of the pair's most recent posts.

United said in a club statement: "Everyone at Manchester United is disgusted by the racial abuse received by players via social media after last night's game.

"We utterly condemn it and it is encouraging to see other fans condemn this on social media also.

"Manchester United has zero tolerance of any form of racism or discrimination and a long-standing commitment to campaigning against it through our All Red All Equal initiative.

"Identifying these anonymous mindless idiots remains problematic. We urge social media platforms and regulatory authorities to strengthen measures to prevent this kind of behaviour."

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Harry Maguire, Scott McTominay and Brandon Williams were among those to post on social media in support of their team-mates, while Kick It Out have labelled racist abuse "completely unacceptable".

Kick It Out chair Sanjay Bhandari said: "We are disappointed that players are continuing to be subject to racist abuse on their social platforms, it is completely unacceptable.

"We will continue to work with the football authorities, law enforcement and social media companies to try and rid football of hateful and discriminatory behaviour.”

Following the online abuse, United midfielder McTominay posted a photo of Tuanzebe with a crown on his head alongside a heart emoji as well as black and white fists.

"My brother," he said on an Instagram Story post. "Disgusted with what I have read this morning"

United captain Maguire wrote on Twitter alongside a picture of the players taking a knee: "UNITED against racism. We will not tolerate it."

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