Shane Duffy targeted by sectarian abuse on Instagram
Celtic defender Shane Duffy has revealed he was targeted by sectarian abuse on Instagram by one user who also chose to laugh at the defender's deceased father.
Duffy's father, Brian, was just 53 years old when he passed away suddenly in March 2020, and the centre-back later admitted that his decision to join Celtic on loan from Brighton partly stemmed from his father's love of the Scottish side.
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He took to Instagram to reveal the vile taunts, writing: "There's abuse which is fine but surely there's a limit."
Republic of Ireland teammate James McClean, who has regularly spoken about the sectarian abuse he receives on a shockingly frequent basis, offered his support to Duffy as well, calling for those responsible to be held accountable for their actions once and for all.
As noted by Sky Sports News, Instagram have confirmed they are investigating the incident. Facebook, who own Instagram, recently released a statement vowing to disable any accounts found guilty of using their platform to abuse others.
Instagram have also pledged to work with the police to help identify those responsible if charges are to be drawn up.
"I saw on Sky today the pressure that football is putting on these social media platforms," Celtic boss Neil Lennon recently said about the issue of abuse on social media. "It should have been done a long time ago.
"These platforms don't show any accountability or look after the people on the end of this constant abuse, whether racial, sectarian, personal.
"It's a poison in modern-day society and it's disgusting. I'm fed up talking about it because nothing gets done. It is about time these people are named, shamed, and dealt with by the police and/or courts."
Facebook were recently in the headlines after they declined to ban a user found to have abused Swansea City's Yan Dhanda, who admitted he was stunned to see the company go against their public promise.