Plymouth Argyle respond with strong message of support for Bim Pepple after ‘vile’ racist abuse

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After Plymouth Argyle beat Cheltenham Town 2-0 on Tuesday evening, striker Bim Pepple was subjected to racist abuse on his social media.

Plymouth Argyle have endured a difficult start to life back in League One following their relegation last season.

Tom Cleverley was appointed to replace Miron Muslic earlier in the summer, but since then, the squad that he inherited has been stripped of prized assets in a testing transfer window.

Plymouth broke their own near 70-year record after losing each of their opening four games of the league campaign after suffering relegation the season prior.

Despite suffering five losses from their first six, Plymouth beat Cheltenham Town 2-0 in the Football League Trophy, after which striker Bim Pepple suffered racist abuse on social media.

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Plymouth Argyle issue statement after Bim Pepple suffers racist abuse

In a rare win of late for Plymouth, Cleverley’s side beat Cheltenham to advance in the cup, courtesy of a first-half brace from striker Lorent Tolaj.

Canadian forward Pepple was introduced with 35 minutes left to play, but unfortunately missed a penalty on the 81-minute mark after his effort was saved by Cheltenham goalkeeper Mamadou Diallo.

With Argyle already leading 2-0, Pepple’s missed penalty proved to be inconsequential to the result.

However, the 22-year-old was subjected to “vile” racist abuse on his social media platforms after Tuesday night’s win, and Plymouth have since released a strong statement of support for their striker.

Part of Plymouth Argyle’s statement read: “Following yesterday’s game, our striker Bim Pepple was subject to vile racist abuse across his social media platforms.

“Late last night, Bim informed us of this and showed us screenshots of the accounts and the messages he had received. These have now been shared with the Police and Meta to be investigated.

“We will do everything possible to support Bim and hold those responsible to account.

“Why did he receive these messages? Because he didn’t score a penalty in a football match. We’re all human.

“We stand with Bim and everyone at the football club, because we are One Argyle and against abuse of any kind.

“For now, our final words are for Bim. Bim, we are all with you, you are part of the Argyle family and have the full support of everyone at the football club.”

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Plymouth Argyle must use cup win as fuel to start winning run

Next up in the league for Argyle is the visit of Stockport County this weekend, which will prove to be a difficult test against the side currently sat in eighth place.

On deadline day, Ben Osborn joined Stockport County on loan from Derby County for the 2025/26 season, and the veteran midfielder will be in line for his Stockport debut at Home Park on Saturday.

Buoyed by the cup victory over Cheltenham, Cleverley must harness some positive momentum from their second win of this term in all competitions to get their stalled start to the season back on track.