Following the immensity of internet abuses players and many others connected to football have been subjected to in recent months, the English FA, including clubs in the Premier League and Women’s Super League, have announced a three-day social media boycott which would take effect from next week.
The decision was taken in a bid to “eradicate online abuses while highlighting the importance of educating people in the ongoing fight against discrimination.”
This season witnessed innumerable cases of sports people being bullied and trolled online, to the extent that it prompted the governing bodies and leagues in English football to write to Twitter and Facebook in February, demanding stricter enforcement of anti-discriminatory laws.
However, it appears those overseeing the games are not satisfied with the response of these social media companies in tracking down perpetrators of such dastard acts.
Hence, the England FA in a joint statement, declared that a boycott of all platforms will now be imposed to cover the full fixtures next weekend, including Manchester United vs. Liverpool in the Premier League.
“The [Football Association] FA, Premier League, [English Football League] EFL, FA Women’s Super League, FA Women’s Championship, [Professional Footballers Association] PFA, [League Managers Association] LMA, [Professional Game Match Officials Limited] PGMOL, Kick It Out and the [Football Supporters Association] FSA will unite for a social media boycott from 15.00 [GMT] on Friday April 30 to 23.59 [GMT] on Monday May 3, in response to the ongoing and sustained discriminatory abuse received online by players and many others connected to football,” a joint statement said.
“This has been scheduled to take place across a full fixture programme in the men’s and women’s professional game and will see clubs across the Premier League, EFL, WSL and Women’s Championship switch off their Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts.
“As a collective, the game recognises the considerable reach and value of social media to our sport. The connectivity and access to supporters who are at the heart of football remains vital.
“However, 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, an improved verification process and re-registration 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.
“Finally, while football takes a stand, we urge the UK Government to ensure its Online Safety Bill will bring in strong legislation to make social media companies more accountable for what happens on their platforms, as discussed at the DCMS [Digital, Culture, Media and Sport] Online Abuse roundtable earlier this week.”
Some high-profile players such as Manchester United’s trio of Marcus Rashford, Lauren James and Anthony Martial, Manchester City forward Raheem Sterling and Liverpool defender Trent Alexander-Arnold were among those reportedly attacked on social media platforms.
