Portsmouth release statement after Wigan Athletic 'abuse'

Latics moved up to fourth place in the fledgling League One table thanks to Callum Lang's 78th-minute goal.

But the day was soured by a number of messages received by their players in the immediate aftermath.

One of the players, James McClean, took the decision to make the abuse he received public.

At the bottom, he expressed his desire to spend 'a couple of minutes alone' with the perpetrator, presumably to discuss the content.

And it transpires McClean was not the only player targeted for abuse.

"The threatening, distasteful and vile messages a number of players were subject to is completely unacceptable," said chief executive Mal Brannigan.

"All messaging has been reported to the relevant authorities with the intention that the instigators will be held accountable for their actions.

“The club has offered support to the players who have been subject to these messages.

“As a club we back calls from the football authorities for real-life consequences for those found to be sending abuse of any form via social media.

“Online abuse must stop now."

And on Sunday evening, Pompey released their own statement to support the stance made by Latics.

"Portsmouth Football Club stand in solidarity with Wigan Athletic by strongly condemning the abuse directed at two Latics players on a social media post following Saturday’s match at the DW Stadium," the statement read.

"There is no place for such vile and hateful messages and anybody who engages in such activity is not welcome in football – and certainly not at Portsmouth Football Club.

"The club will not tolerate any form of discriminatory language, either in person or via social media."

Get 20% off our sports subscription package and stay up to date with all the latest Wigan Athletic news with a year’s subscription to WiganToday for less than 9p a day. Use promo code TRANSFER20