FREETOWN, 24 October 2026 – German Bundesliga club FC Augsburg has strongly condemned racist abuse and death threats directed at Sierra Leone international defender Juma Bah on Instagram.
In a statement posted on Friday titled “NO ROOM FOR RACISM!”, the club said Bah was subjected to “utterly vile racist abuse and death threats” and that his family was also threatened.
“Today, our player Juma Bah was subjected to utterly vile racist abuse and death threats on Instagram. His family was also threatened,” the club said.
“We are appalled by this hatred. And we want to make one thing absolutely clear: We will never accept, tolerate or simply ignore such behaviour!”
The club said anyone who racially abuses or threatens one of its players is attacking the values of its entire family, stressing that “regardless of skin colour, background, religion or nationality – every human being deserves respect, dignity and safety.”
“We will report this incident to the police and pursue all legal options available to us. We stand united behind you, Juma! NO ROOM FOR RACISM. NO ROOM FOR HATE,” Augsburg added.
The incident comes just two weeks after Bah made a dream Bundesliga debut for Augsburg. The 20-year-old centre-back, who is on a season-long loan from Manchester City, started against champions Bayern Munich on 10th October at the WWK Arena and held them to a 2-2 draw in front of a sold-out crowd. He played 82 minutes against Harry Kane and company.
Bah, who is 1.95m tall and wears No.35, was born in Freetown on 11th April 2006. He began his career with SLIFA in Sierra Leone before moving to Real Valladolid in Spain. Manchester City signed him for €6 million in January 2025 and he has since gained top-level experience on loan at RC Lens and OGC Nice in France, playing 51 competitive games, before joining Augsburg on 1st September 2026 with an option to buy.
He has seven senior caps for Sierra Leone’s Leone Stars and is regarded as one of the country’s brightest prospects.
Augsburg confirmed Bah started again on Friday against Union Berlin in Matchday 7, which ended 1-1.
Racist abuse of players on social media has become a growing concern in European football. In recent days, several Premier League and Bundesliga players have reported similar abuse, prompting clubs, the UK Football Policing Unit, and Meta – which owns Instagram – to pledge tougher action and cooperation with police investigations.
