Luton boss condemns racist abuse sent to Adebayo

Elijah Adebayo has made 73 Luton appearances since Rob Edwards was appointed in November 2022

Luton Town manager Rob Edwards has condemned the latest instance of racist abuse directed at striker Elijah Adebayo.

The 26-year-old was sent an abusive message on Instagram during Wednesday's 2-1 Championship defeat by Sunderland at Kenilworth Road.

Social media company Meta has closed the account the message originated from after receiving a complaint from the club.

"We are completely and utterly against any form of discrimination. We are 100% with Eli, and always will be," Edwards said.

"We're a really diverse town and [the club have] a multi-cultural support base and it's really important to us that we want to be right at the forefront of getting this message out there.

"There is a part of you that wishes these people could not hide behind a keyboard and then [have to] come and stand in front of 6ft 5in Eli and try and say that. But that's not the world we live in now."

Adebayo has been repeatedly targeted, with Luton revealing in October 2022 that they had reported abuse to the police three times in less than a year.

In October 2023, he was again on the receiving end of abuse following a Premier League defeat by Tottenham Hotspur, which the club at the time described as "vile and cowardly".

Police are continuing to investigate the latest matter and in a statement, Sunderland said: "We strongly condemn all forms of discrimination and will insist that anyone identified faces the strongest sanctions possible, which will include a lifetime ban from the Stadium of Light.

"The club is in dialogue with Luton Town and will support all other stakeholders, including Bedfordshire Police and Meta, to ensure the individual is held accountable for their abhorrent behaviour.

"All at SAFC stand with Elijah and are unified in the message that racism has no place online, in our stadiums, or in our communities."

Luton are away to Coventry City on Saturday, a club involved in a similar situation last season when midfielder Kasey Palmer was the victim of a racist gesture during a game against Sheffield Wednesday.

Edwards said Adebayo was "fine" but continued: "Eli said to me earlier on when I was having another chat with him about it, that he feels we'll be here again in the future which is sad."

He added: "We are a family here and we look after our own. We want to stand with Eli on this and support him.

"Are we fighting a battle we're never going to win? Speaking to Carlton Morris about it, he believes there are improvements, there are changes.

"But is that just because people are worried about the punishment and not because we're making progress with the whole situation? I don't know.

"It's really frustrating. I want to be able to talk about football but we're not. I suppose we're in a position now in football to get our message out there maybe more than anyone else, to get this across, and it's really important that it lands."