After another weekend of vile racism towards footballers the length and breadth of the country, are social media companies and football authorities going to do anything to stop the abuse?

As a snapshot of the racist abuse still faced by footballers on a regular basis, last weekend was instructive. From the lower leagues in Scotland to the top divisions for men and women in England, no-one was immune from the bile that piled forth, mainly on social media. The charge sheet was as follows - and these are only the incidents that were reported in the media:. + Friday, January 31 - Michael Nottingham (Livingston).

+ Saturday, February 1 - Joe Willock (Newcastle United). + Sunday, February 2 - Marvin Kaleta (Motherwell) and Bunny Shaw (Manchester City women). Motherwell’s Kaleta was the subject of alleged racial abuse following the match with Celtic, while Livingston’s Nottingham was also targeted after the Championship game against Falkirk. Newcastle reported comments made online about Willock in the aftermath of their home defeat to Fulham, and City’s Shaw was sent racist and misogynistic messages following the loss to Arsenal in the Women’s Super League.

Livingston's Michael Nottingham was targeted after the Championship game against Falkirk. Motherwell’s Kaleta was the subject of alleged racial abuse following the match with Celtic. City’s Shaw was sent racist and misogynistic messages following the loss to Arsenal. Newcastle reported comments made online about Willock after heir home defeat to Fulham. Asked about the racist abuse in Scotland, an SPFL spokesperson told Mail Sport: ‘These online posts received by two SPFL players are disgraceful.

‘We fully support any steps taken by our clubs and our authorities to identify the individuals involved. 'Social media provides a great platform for clubs to positively engage with its supporters, but these sites are often abused by a mindless minority and it is also incumbent upon social media companies to actively combat these issues.’. Here, Mail Sport speaks hears from two former footballers about their experiences of racist abuse... and what can be done.

MARVIN BARTLEY. Racism is tough. It’s really tough. The best way I can describe it, is that it’s like being cut by someone. The first time it happened to me over social media in Scotland, I had been playing in an Edinburgh derby at Easter Road. The guy that did it then apologised to me, because he said he didn’t realise how bad it sounded when he was writing it down. When things like this happen, it’s obviously deeply emotional. I remember going to the toilet and I read a message straight after the match and started crying. Probably more out of frustration than anything else. It hurts, and then you get angry.

There are all sorts of emotions. Your team-mates are making sure you’re okay, and then you go home and you’re in a dark place again, because all you do is relay that message over and over again in your head. You ask yourself: “Why are people sending these things”?. Marvin Bartley was left in tears after the abuse he received on social media. Then at the same time, you think: “Why am I doing this? Is it worth it?”.

Then you become more determined. These people are in the minority and all the lovely people far outweigh the negative ones. However, it still sticks. You can have a thousand people being nice to you, but that one person saying something is really hurtful Those are the messages you remember the most. Which is horrendous. I’ve had an incident before where someone recorded me warming up, and racially abused me, with some of the worst language I’d ever heard. I’ve had horrible messages on social media. It’s just horrific. It takes you to a very, very dark and lonely place.

Probably, for me, the thing that made it the hardest, was when my mum came across it. At that point, I was up in Scotland and in my thirties, and she just wanted me to come home because, at the end of the day, I was still her son. To hear your parent on the phone crying, because someone has racially abused you, makes it very difficult. You can’t think about the results on the pitch - it’s just the abuse that lingers.

Now I’m emotionally detached from it all and it has minimal effect, That helps me to help others in a similar position, because I can now support them when these kind of things happen. I hope, in some way, I’ve been able to help those affected by the alleged incidents against Livingston’s Michael Nottingham and Motherwell’s Marvin Katela last weekend. I’d like to say I was surprised that this had happened - but I no longer am.

Cristian Montano of Livingston was sent a message with abuse aimed against him, too. To have had such a positive result on the pitch and then to see that is really disappointing. Cristian was at home with his partner and child and they were trying to distract him, but he couldn’t even think about the game. It became all about what was written down. That has a real effect on people. Do I think racism is more prevalent now than ever? I think that’s a difficult one to ascertain. It’s seen more now, because social media makes it a lot more accessible.