The skipper of the Finland national team admits a co-ordinated national team message of support towards team-mate Glen Kamara prompted more horrific online abuse.
34-year-old Huuhkajat veteran Tim Sparv and his team-mates wore t-shirts to show solidarity towards the Rangers playmaker who was the victim of a racism storm in the Europa League last 16 tie at Ibrox against Slavia Prague earlier this month.
Slavia defender Ondrej Kudela whispered in Kamara's ear with the former Dundee star later claiming he had been called a 'monkey', an accusation denied by Kudela and the Czech league leaders.
Finland players immediately came together during the international break that followed the disgraceful incident as the likes of talisman and former Celtic striker Teemu Pukki donned tops that read 'I stand with Glen'.
But Sparv, who plies his trade at Greek club AEL, reveals the bigots came out of hiding again to send him and his team-mates more hate on social media - including further racial bile.
He said: "The idea came from us players. When we heard about the incident from Scotland, we knew immediately that we had to do something. We wanted Glen to know he wasn't alone and could count on us.
"So when I shared a picture in a T-shirt in support of Kamara, I got a lot of hate mail. People called me an idiot and a fool. I accept that, it's not a problem.
"But they also wrote to me stating 'Glen is a monkey.' This shows that we still have a long way to go before we can eradicate racism.
"What Glen said about the incident will remain between us and also, an investigation is underway, so I don't want to talk about it.
"Glen is my teammate and friend, I have no reason to distrust him. He is perhaps the most mentally-balanced player in the Finnish national team.
"When I saw his reaction, it was clear to me that his opponent had said something very ugly to him. I can't believe he's making it up.
"Insults are part of football. I get that and other sports seem to treat each other better. We definitely can't be proud of how we sometimes swear at referees or teammates.
"But in my opinion, there is a big difference between a player insulting an opponent's mother or comparing a black player to a monkey. All forms of racism should be punished.
"Social media unfortunately is a place where people can behave as a racist without consequences. It's easy to write something like 'Glen is a monkey.' Social network owners need to start doing something about it."