Police have begun enquiries into the social media abuse aimed at Kai Havertz’s wife after FA Cup defeat to Manchester United at the weekend.
The German saw his penalty saved by Altay Bayindir in the shootout, which followed a 1-1 draw between the sides, with the miss proving decisive as the Red Devils went through.
The former Chelsea man generally had a poor game, missing chances before the match reached penalty kicks.
In the immediate aftermath of Arsenal’s surprise defeat at the Emirates, Havertz’s wife, Sophia, revealed the abusive messages she had received on Instagram during the game.
The abuse she received was shocking, with one of the messages reading: ‘I hope you have a miscarriage.’
The second message read: ‘I’m gonna come to your house and slaughter your baby, I’m not joking just wait.’
The police have now got involved , with a Hertfordshire Constabulary spokesperson telling PA: ‘Officers have received a report of malicious communications towards a Hertfordshire resident on Sunday 12 January. Enquiries are underway.’
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta hit out at the abuse that players and their families receive after the game, saying it must be stamped out.
‘It’s incredible, honestly. We really have to do something about it, because accepting that and hiding this has terrible consequences,’ said the Gunners boss.
‘It’s something we have to eradicate from the game because it’s so cynical and dependent to a result of an action. There is no other industry like this.
‘When we played Ipswich on December 27, we won 1-0 and Kai Havertz scored. The whole stadium after that is singing the “Waka, Waka” (his chant). That was 20 days ago. Where is the perspective?
‘We are all responsible. You guys (the media) are responsible, everybody is responsible for the narrative and how we talk. We cannot look somewhere else. That’s a really serious matter. It affects me. It affects him and everybody that is in the industry.
‘We can accept it and say ‘that’s our job’, but there are certain limits and the line has to be drawn. We put a lot of attention on technology and what is next in football. What is next in football is that this should be prohibited. It cannot happen. That’s it.’
Havertz was in the starting XI again on Wednesday night as Arsenal beat Tottenham 2-1 in the Premier League in an impressive team performance.
Declan Rice spoke out in defence of the German, noting that the Arsenal fans showed him their support at the Emirates.
‘I think there’s a social media perception that people think,’ Rice told TNT Sports. ‘When you come to the stadium and actually hear the real fans and what they think, it’s two different things.
‘The cheer he got tonight is ridiculous. It was the loudest cheer of the night when his name got called out. You could tell that means a lot to him.
‘The way he fights and scraps for 90 minutes, he does it week in, week out, yeah he might not score every week, but what he does for the team He’s been brilliant for us. He can play 9, he can play 8, he can play 10, he can play on the wing and he knows every position to such a high level.’