LONDON (AP) — Manchester United defender Harry Maguire has called on social media companies to require users to verify their identities after teammate Paul Pogba was targeted on Twitter with racial abuse.

Racially offensive tweets about Pogba were posted after his penalty kick was saved in United's 1-1 draw at Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Premier League on Monday.

The 20-time English champions say they "encourage social media companies to take action in these cases."

Maguire tweeted that "every account that is opened should be verified by a passport/driving license. Stop these pathetic trolls making numerous accounts to abuse people."

Former United defender Phil Neville, who coaches the England women's national team, called for a six-month boycott of social media companies, saying he had "lost total faith."

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