Archer condemns racist abuse on social media

LONDON: England fast bowler Jofra Archer has spoken out against racist abuse and called for action against its perpetrators after posting screenshots of direct messages he had received, on his Instagram story.

“I [have] given a lot of thought about reacting to this and I hope that no-one else has to deal with stuff like this on a regular basis,” Archer wrote on his story. “It isn’t ever acceptable and should be addressed properly in my opinion.

“I will never understand how people feel so freely to say these things to another human being. It baffles me.” Archer has regularly spoken out against racial abuse that he has received during his England career to date.

He was abused at the end of England’s defeat against New Zealand at Mount Maunganui in November, and was later contacted on Instagram by the perpetrator. New Zealand Cricket announced in January that a 28-year-old man had been banned from attending cricket in the countries for two years and issued with a verbal warning following a police investigation. Last week, Archer tweeted a link to a YouTube video which accused him of pulling “race card nonsense” regarding the abuse he suffered in New Zealand.