Wolves’ Tolu Arokodare Subjected to Racial Abuse on Social Media After Palace Penalty Miss

Wolves striker Tolu Arokodare has been subjected to racist abuse on social media following the club’s 1-0 defeat at Crystal Palace on Sunday, February 22, 2026. The 25-year-old Nigerian international missed a penalty in the fixture and subsequently received multiple racist messages from several accounts on Instagram.

The Incident and Aftermath

Arokodare received several racist messages via Instagram after he had a penalty saved in Wolves’ 1-0 defeat to Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Sunday. After the full-time whistle, the 25-year-old took the time to head towards the travelling support and held his hands up in apology.

Several messages shared by Arokodare and Wolves included the slurs “monkey” and the use of the N-word in the latest online race attack against a Premier League footballer. The vile trolls chose to send racist abuse towards the striker despite his gesture of contrition towards the travelling fans.

Wolves’ Strong Statement

Wolves are disgusted by numerous instances of racist abuse, from multiple perpetrators, directed at Tolu Arokodare on social media following the fixture against Crystal Palace. The club said: “There is no place for racism – in football, online, or anywhere in society. We condemn this abhorrent and unlawful behaviour in the strongest possible terms.”

The club added: “Tolu has our full and unwavering support. No player should be subjected to such hatred simply for doing their job. We stand firmly alongside him, and alongside all footballers who are forced to endure this abuse from anonymous accounts acting with apparent impunity.”

Arokodare’s Response

Arokodare hit out at the racists on social media, saying: “It’s still unbelievable to me that we’re playing in a time where people have so much freedom to communicate such racism without any consequences. These individuals should have no place in our game and collectively we have to take action to punish everyone who taints the sport like this, no matter who they are.”

Part of Wider Weekend Abuse Crisis

The incident came less than 24 hours after Wesley Fofana and Hannibal Mejbri were racially abused following Chelsea’s draw with Burnley. Sunderland winger Romaine Mundle was also racially abused online after their 3-1 loss to Fulham.

Fofana shared images of the abuse on Instagram, commenting: “2026, it’s still the same thing, nothing changes. These people are never punished. You create big campaigns against racism, but nobody actually does anything.”

Official Responses and Action

Wolves have reported the posts to the relevant platforms and will work with the Premier League and the authorities to help identify those responsible and ensure appropriate action is taken. The club said it will continue to take a zero-tolerance approach to all forms of discrimination.

Kick It Out, the anti-discrimination group, made renewed calls for social media companies to take action. In their statement, they said: “This has been an appalling weekend after four players called out the racist abuse they’ve received on social media. Words matter, but actions are more important. Football is working together to tackle this issue alongside the UK Football Policing Unit and Ofcom, but social media companies must do more to offer protections to players and help improve accountability when incidents occur.”

Player Career Context

Arokodare, a ten-cap Nigeria international, joined Wolves in a £24 million move from Belgian outfit Genk last September. He has scored five goals in 28 appearances in all competitions so far this season.

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