English football clubs, including the Premier League and Women's Super League, are launching a four-day social media boycott to combat online abuse, particularly racism. Supported by various organizations, the initiative aims to pressure platforms to take action against trolls and protect the football community.
Premier League, English Football League, and Women’s Super League clubs will participate in a four-day social media boycott to fight against abuse and discrimination. The boycott, starting on April 30, will also involve the Football Association, league bodies, and organizations like Kick it Out, an anti-discrimination charity.
Kick it Out’s chairman, Sanjay Bhandari, expressed the collective frustration, saying, “Social media is now sadly a regular vessel for toxic abuse.” The gesture aims to send a strong message to social media companies, urging them to take action against trolls and make their platforms a hostile environment for abusers, not for the football community.
Several footballers who’ve faced racial abuse online have supported the boycott, including Sheffield United’s David McGoldrick and Brighton’s Neal Maupay. McGoldrick welcomed the move, saying it’s long overdue, while Maupay described it as a “very good” initiative to fight online abuse together.
The Football Supporters’ Association, League Managers’ Association, Women in Football, and refereeing body PGMOL have all pledged their support for the boycott. This action follows previous moves by clubs like Swansea City and Rangers, who took similar steps against online abuse targeting their players.
Thierry Henry, former Arsenal and France striker, also removed himself from social media in March, stating that he had to take a stand against the racism and bullying that persist on these platforms. Liverpool recently spoke out after several of their players, including Trent Alexander-Arnold and Sadio Mane, were targeted with racist abuse.
A joint statement from English football’s governing bodies emphasized that while the boycott alone won’t end online hate, it shows football’s commitment to taking proactive steps. The FA’s Edleen John stressed that discrimination in any form will not be tolerated and urged social media companies to be held accountable for failing to address the issue.
This initiative comes after the UK government threatened social media companies with substantial fines if they don’t take more effective action against online abuse. Facebook has pledged to implement stricter measures, while Instagram has introduced a tool to filter out abusive messages from non-followers.
Source : BBC
