The Tunisian Football Federation has expressed its full support to national team player Hannibal Meibry after he was subjected to racist abuse on social media platforms following the English Premier League match between Burnley and Chelsea.
In a statement released on Sunday, the Tunisian federation expressed its gratitude for the responsible spirit shown by Al-Mejibri in dealing with these violations, noting that it had communicated with the players to boost their morale and support them at this delicate stage. The statement added: “We commend Burnley FC for their responsible stance in supporting this player and call on all concerned to redouble their efforts to combat these unacceptable acts, limit them and prevent them from happening again, in order to uphold the noble values at the heart of sport.”
Al Majbouri played in the game where his team Burnley, who are at the bottom of the league standings, played against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, and the match ended in a 1-1 draw with his goal in stoppage time.
Al Mujabri and Chelsea’s French defender Wesley Fofana were subjected to racist abuse after the match after they posted photos of offensive messages they had received in private messages on their Instagram accounts. Commenting on his message, Al Mujabri said: “Those people will still be among us in 2026. Educate your children and yourself.”
After being sent off during a match, Fofana wrote: “In 2026, nothing has changed and things will remain the same as long as people always go unpunished. A massive campaign against racism has been launched, but no one is taking concrete action.”
Burnley FC strongly condemns these acts of abuse and emphasizes that it has a strict policy of not tolerating any form of discrimination, adding that it has notified Meta, the company that owns Instagram, of the offensive posts and looks forward to strong cooperation from Meta, the English Premier League and the police in identifying and investigating those responsible for the abuse.
Meanwhile, Chelsea FC condemned the abuse suffered by Fofana, stressing that what happened was “unacceptable and inconsistent with the values of football and the principles of the club”.
