Championship boss responds to ‘unacceptable’ racist abuse after being nominated for prestigious award

Championship side Hull City have condemned the racist abuse that has been directed towards their manager Liam Rosenior on social media. The abuse came after Rosenior was confirmed as one of the nominees for the Championship Manager of the Season on Wednesday 3 April. In a statement on social media, Hull said they were ‘disgusted’ by the abuse that their manager had received and added that they were working closely with the relevant authorities to identify those responsible.

The statement reads: "Hull City has zero tolerance of any form of discrimination. Our stance is clear: racism has no place in football or society."

Rosenior, who joined Hull City in November 2022, claims that it is important that action is taken. He admits that he is not on social media for this reason, but adds that it is not something that his family should have to read, particularly when the actual story is a positive one.

He told BBC Radio Humberside: “For something that can be really positive for my kids to read about something I'm doing, for it to turn into that it leaves a bit of a bitter taste in my mouth.

"That's why I'm not on it [social media] but I know it affects my kids, I know it affects my family, and something needs to be done about it because it affects my players as well.”

He added: "People can talk about whether I'm a good manager or not a good manager or if my team's good or whether we're not good, that's football, that's normal, or whether I should be in the job or out of a job that's absolutely fine.

"But when people write things about the colour of my skin, to do with something that should be a positive thing, I have to make a statement and say that is unacceptable."

Rosenior was appointed Hull boss last season at a time when the Tigers were just one point ahead of the drop zone. He subsequently led them to a comfortable 15th place finish last term and has now this season has set his sights on promotion with an exciting team featuring the likes of Jaden Philogene, Ozan Tufan, Liam Delap and Fabio Carvalho.

As it stands, Hull City are 10th in the table, six points off the play-offs with a game in hand. The Tigers are currently experiencing a blip in form and are without a win in six games. The Humberside outfit will look to put that right this weekend when they make the trip to Cardiff City before a crunch home match against fellow play-off contenders Middlesbrough on Wednesday.