English football to boycott Twitter, Facebook, Instagram

Football clubs and footballers plying their trade in the English Premier League would boycott social media platforms next weekend in response to online racial abuses and discrimination.

The Premier League made the disclosure in a statement released on its official website on Saturday night.

According to the statement, both male and female footballers and clubs across the Premier League, English Football League, Women’s Super League and Women’s Championship would turn off their social media accounts from Friday 30 April to Monday 3 May.

The move which has the backing of the FA, PFA, LMA, PGMOL, Kick It Out and FSA comes in response to the ongoing and sustained discriminatory abuse received online by players and many others connected to football.

A long list of football stars has been subjected to racist abuses on social media including players from the various leagues in the country, forcing Arsenal legend Thierry Henry to shut down his social media accounts. Swansea and Birmingham have also staged individual boycotts.

“The boycott shows English football coming together to emphasise that social media companies must do more to eradicate online hate while highlighting the importance of educating people in the ongoing fight against discrimination.

“In our letter of February 2021, English football outlined its requests of social media companies, urging filtering, blocking and swift takedowns of offensive posts, and improved verification process and reregistration prevention, plus active assistance for law enforcement agencies to identify and prosecute originators of illegal content.

“While some progress has been made, we reiterate those requests today in an effort to stem the relentless flow of discriminatory messages and ensure that there are real-life consequences for purveyors of online abuse across all platforms.

“Boycott action from football in isolation will, of course, not eradicate the scourge of online discriminatory abuse, but it will demonstrate that the game is willing to take voluntary and proactive steps in this continued fight,” a collective statement from the governing bodies stated.