June 2020 is here. In a close encounter against Arsenal, Brighton’s striker Neal Maupay just scored the game’s final goal.
The Frenchman, 27, makes his way back to the dressing room. After achieving his objective, he checks his phone and receives congrats from friends and family. He apologizes on the internet for accidentally hurting Bernd Leno, the goalie for Arsenal, during the match.
“The club called me when I got home to let me know that a lot of stuff was happening online. We suggest that you log off from social media and, if desired, cancel your accounts.”
We are having a conversation in the locker room of Brentford, his current team. One anonymous user, he claims, warned that his “loved ones would go through suffering” in the comments and messages. In addition to threatening to hurt him, it said, “Watch out—your family will be attacked later in the day.”
“It was extremely unsettling,” he remarks. “I called the club and I said, we need to do something, because what if that guy is really coming to my house?”
