You could legitimately argue that the three players you mention got their share of grief because they were either complete knobbeads or too precious by half, PB.
However, in the case of this latest assault on Sterling you're right, race underpins the narrative absolutely. The two papers peddling this filth the hardest are the Sun and the Fail, both of whom have just campaigned vigorously for Brexit, both of whom have been running 'asylum seeker rape' stories for months, and both of whom are now looking for a diversionary target for their gormless right wing readerships to focus their hate on now that it's become clear the country's in a God awful mess (partly) as a result of their (the Sun & the Fail's) emotional provocation during the EU debate. What better scapegoat then than the not too savvy, but hugely wealthy, son of an immigrant? Representatives of The Sun should be banned from the Etihad sine die