Police investigating striker received more racist abuse from fans’

Luton boss Rob Edwards has revealed the striker Carlton Morris received more racist abuse on social media following the 3-2 victory against Sheffield United on Boxing Day.

The 28-year-old came on as a substitute with his side 2-1 down at Bramall Lane, going on to play a huge role in Town’s comeback, sending in two crosses that were turned into their own net by Jack Robinson and Anis Slimani. With two minutes of stoppage time to go though and Morris trying to keep the ball in the corner to run the clock down, he received an alleged racist remark from a supporter in the home end and immediately went to inform referee Sam Allison, who in turn spoke to both managers, Edwards and Blades chief Chris Wilder.

The incident is now being investigated by South Yorkshire Police and but speaking to the press yesterday, Edwards conceded that there had been more comments made towards Morris since the game, saying: “Carlton’s okay, I text him the day after, the bit and I can’t understand this, so it’s hard to have that empathy for him as I’ve never been in that situation. Most of the times I’m able to empathise with players, whether it’s injuries or being out of the team or whatever it is, this I can’t.

“The next day, I told him, ‘I can’t imagine how it feels.'” Following the game, he posted more on social media. And, when he texted me back, he said, ‘it’s okay, I know the protocols to follow, we know what to do.’ I just think it’s awful that this happens so frequently.

“‘It’s like water off a duck’s back,’ he added. That’s pretty sad, in my opinion. As I already stated, I cannot put myself in his shoes in this scenario, but he has handled it admirably.”

When asked about how officials handled the incident at the time, Edwards responded, “Sam handled it effectively, let Chris and myself know, and the correct authorities, the police got involved and handled it from there.”