“These are not football fans” – Nigerian star speaks out after Bundesliga racist abuse

FC St. Pauli striker Oladapo Afolayan has publicly revealed the vile racist abuse and threats he received on social media following his team’s 1-0 victory over VfB Stuttgart in the Bundesliga, Soccernet.football reports.

The 27-year-old, who has been with the German club since 2023, shared screenshots of the hateful messages on Instagram, accompanied by the words: “Welcome to the life of a black footballer in 2024.”

The abuse, which included threats directed at Afolayan’s family, marred what should have been a celebratory moment for St. Pauli.

Afolayan missed two key chances during the match, but it was the racist hostility — not his performance — that left the player deeply frustrated.

“I invite you to say this to my face,” Afolayan posted. “These are not football fans. This started long before I began playing football… nothing has changed since then. We need real consequences and penalties.”

St. Pauli responded swiftly, issuing a strong statement of solidarity with the player.

“St. Pauli condemns the racist insults on social media against our player Dapo Afolayan in the strongest possible terms,” the club wrote on Bluesky. “The club will explore all possibilities to take legal action against these insults and threats.”

Club president Oke Göttlich reinforced the message, calling the abuse “criminal hate speech.” He added: “As the entire FC St. Pauli community, we stand against this despicable hatred. Full solidarity with Dapo.”

This is not the first time Afolayan has been subjected to racism. Last year, both he and Brazilian teammate Maurides faced similar abuse following a St. Pauli victory against Kaiserslautern.