Joe Willock responds after being sent disgusting abusive messages about him and his family

Joe Willock responds after being sent disgusting abusive messages about him and his family on Instagram at the weekend.

The Newcastle player posted a screenshot of what he received in his Instagram messages, and said “I pray you and your family find God. And may him have mercy on you.”

He outed the abusive Instagram user on Sunday evening, just after Newcastle’s 2-0 win against Crystal Palace in the afternoon.

Newcastle wrote in a statement: “We are disgusted by racist abuse received by Joe Willock on Instagram on Sunday evening.

“Following our win over Crystal Palace, Joe received several direct messages from an Instagram account that included racial slurs and deeply disturbing threats of violence towards Joe and his family.

“Sadly, Joe has faced this before. Each time, we have acted quickly to support him and that has been our immediate priority again.

“We have swiftly reported this matter to the police and we will fully support any investigation to identify the person responsible and hold them accountable, wherever they are.

“This can only happen with meaningful action from Meta, Instagram’s owners. We urge Meta to give the police all the information they need to identify the perpetrator, and to do so quickly.

“Removing content and applying message filters is not enough. Social media companies must do more to protect users and support the prosecution of those who seek to break the law on their platforms.

“We stand firmly with Joe and anyone else who faces this kind of abuse.”

The Premier League have said: “We join Newcastle in strongly condemning this abhorrent abuse and have offered our full support to Joe and the club.

“Football is for everyone and there is no place for discriminatory or threatening abuse in our game or anywhere in society.

“Any individuals identified and found guilty of discrimination will face the strongest possible consequences, including club bans and legal prosecution.”

We join Newcastle in strongly condemning this abhorrent abuse and have offered our full support to Joe and the club.

Football is for everyone and there is no place for discriminatory or threatening abuse in our game or anywhere in society.

Any individuals identified and found… https://t.co/pq7zu0jrSN

— Premier League (@premierleague) January 5, 2026

The game saw Bruno Guimaraes head home the opener 71 minutes in, before Malick Thiaw poked home a second shortly after.

It means Newcastle have moved into the top half of the table while Palace slip down to 14th, more worryingly for the Eagles, they are now without a win in seven.

Eddie Howe spoke to Sky Sports after Newcastle’s victory against Crystal Palace: “It was a tough game, it always is against Palace. Oliver has done an amazing job. We had to be patient. It was bitty at times. I think the substitutions made a difference and helped us over the lines.”

On getting the first goal: “I think they were two good moves for the goals that weren’t. We needed that first goal to relax us. I think we got better and better in the game.”

On Lewis Miley: “He’s been incredible since he came into the team. You wouldn’t know it [isn’t his natural position]. He’s excelled in this position [at full-back]. He’s doing a great job in the team.”

On back-to-back wins: “It’s a better position but we’ve got more work to do. We’ve got a massive month ahead. We need to build some momentum and confidence and today is a big step forward.”

HOW has Joe Willock missed from there? 🫣 pic.twitter.com/M526NU5gsm

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) January 4, 2026

Oliver Glasner spoke to Sky Sports after Crystal Palace’s defeat against Newcastle: “It was a good performance but in the last four defeats we lost three just from set pieces. It’s not acceptable and I have to find solutions to support the players better. We can’t afford to give so many goals away from set pieces. it’s the reason we lost today. I was pleased with how we moved the ball and defended.

On finding those ‘solutions’: “We need to look at where we can improve. In second phases it’s just too much. We need to do better.

On Brennan Johnson’s debut: “I was pleased with his performance, you can see what he will bring to our team. The players need to get used to him and the patterns we have. It will help him to get in better situations. He was a threat. Absolutely okay for his debut after just one day of training.”

Fans sent their support to Joe Willock after he was responds to being sent disgusting abusive messages about him and his family…

@NUFC360: THIS HAS NO PLACE IN FOOTBALL ❌ Footballers are human beings and have the same feelings and struggles as many of us do. No one has the right to abuse anyone let alone to be level which Joe Willock has had to deal with tonight. We stand with you @Joewillock 🖤🤍 #NUFC #UnitedAsOne #SayNoToRacism

@StanwayDave: Shocking and police surely involved these people need to face consequences not acceptable full stop

@RobGibb78: This is sickening! So sorry that this has happened to you @Joewillock – we are with you, always ⚫️⚪️⚫️⚪️

@thomashammond__: Absolutely fucking grim. Shame on whoever even has these thoughts run through their mind. Credit to Joe Willock for calling this heinous activity out.

@The_GeordieFox: There are some absolute losers with miserable lives out there. We stand with you @Joewillock. Keep your head up mate

@Dhogg96: The horrible and sad thing is as soon as he missed that shot i knew some disgusting idiots would do this, no one should ever have to deal with this, hopefully we can all show him love and support like we do with all our players.

@Toontastik: WTF absolutely disgusting and needs reporting….Toon Army stands with you Joe!

@David_M_Burnett: There’s a reason why these people sending messages like that hide their identity and have anonymous accounts. Absolute cowards. Says a lot about the kind of person they are.

@NufcWolf39: This is absolutely disgusting this mind ya Joe willock on his insta story there’s absolutely no need for any of this I hope Joe is alright like because I can’t stand anything like this NOT WILLOCK

@BelfastMags: Joe Willock receiving more vile hate, from racist scum! Report this account, ykem240 on Instagram #NoFootballForRacists

@PDProudlock: Absolutely shocking and complete pure filth that Joe Willock has received racial abuse online for his miss today, those people will never been one of us and I hope him and the club get these absolute disgusting pigs what they deserve.

@davez2010: It’s just football man 🙆🏾‍♂️, no player should receive messages like this 😔 Joe Willock respectful as ever, most wouldn’t be. As ever we will get behind the lad in moments like this 🙏🏾 #NUFC ⚫️⚪️

@wolvesbradders: Just seen the vile racist abuse Joe Willock has had via DMs on Insta. How fucked up must you be to even think these things, let alone send them. It’s just a game of football.

@Drew_Guard_14: Absolutely we are with @Joewillock… There is NEVER a valid reason or excuse for this, what a vile, disgusting individual… 😡