Hull City has strongly condemned racist abuse directed at teenage forward Robinio Vaz on social media, just days after the French striker completed his move to the newly promoted Premier League club.
The 19-year-old joined Hull City from AS Roma on transfer deadline day on a season-long loan deal, with the agreement reportedly including an option for the Tigers to make the move permanent at the end of the season.
The abuse surfaced after Hull announced Vaz’s arrival on social media. The announcement attracted a large number of derogatory comments aimed at the player, prompting the club to issue a strong statement condemning the incident.
Hull said it has a zero-tolerance policy toward discrimination and is working with Humberside Police, the Premier League, Kick It Out and relevant social-media companies to identify those responsible.
The club also made clear that Vaz has its full support and urged supporters to report discriminatory content rather than allow it to spread.
The Premier League has separately condemned the abuse and offered its support to both Vaz and Hull City. The league has a specialist team that monitors and investigates online discriminatory abuse, with perpetrators potentially facing criminal penalties, football banning orders and other sanctions depending on the circumstances.
Who is Robinio Vaz?
Vaz is a France Under-20 international who began his senior career at Marseille before moving to Roma in January 2026.
According to L’Équipe’s player profile, he made 19 senior appearances for Marseille during the 2025-26 campaign, scoring four goals, including appearances in the Champions League. Roma subsequently signed him, where he made 14 appearances across all competitions last season and scored once.
His move to Hull is part of an aggressive recruitment drive by the newly promoted club. BBC reporting said Hull completed six signings on deadline day, including Vaz and midfielder Tim Iroegbunam.
Hull’s strong Premier League return overshadowed
The abuse comes at a particularly sensitive moment for Hull City.
After returning to the Premier League, the Tigers opened their campaign with consecutive victories over Manchester United and Coventry City, giving them six points from their first two matches. Reuters reported that Hull were sitting second in the early Premier League table on goal difference after the Coventry victory.
Hull are scheduled to host Aston Villa on Saturday, with attention now turning to whether Vaz could make his debut for his new club.
But before the teenager can fully focus on establishing himself in England, the club is dealing with an ugly reminder of the discrimination that continues to follow footballers onto social media.
A wider problem across English football
Vaz’s case is not an isolated incident.
Kick It Out reported that it received a record 1,744 reports of discrimination during the 2025-26 season, a 25% increase from the previous campaign. Racism remained the most frequently reported form of discrimination, accounting for 792 reports — 45% of the total. Online discrimination alone generated 650 reports.
The Premier League says its dedicated online-abuse team has conducted more than 4,000 investigations into online abuse and works with clubs, law enforcement agencies, social-media companies and specialist lawyers to identify perpetrators and pursue appropriate action.
That means the people behind abusive accounts are not necessarily beyond reach simply because the comments are posted online.
For Vaz, however, the immediate priority is support as he begins a new chapter in English football.
Hull’s message is unequivocal: his arrival should be about football, not racism.
And with police and football authorities now working to identify the accounts responsible, the next stage of this story could determine whether those responsible face consequences for what they posted.
WWC ONE MEDIA
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