Players and teams in the English Premier League and the Women’s Super League, the top two soccer leagues in England, will lead a boycott of social media for three days as a protest to abusive and discriminatory posts directed at some players, ESPN reports.
“High-profile players such as Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford and Lauren James, Manchester City forward Raheem Sterling and Liverpool defender Trent Alexander-Arnold have reported that they have received racist abuse on social media platforms,” ESPN reports.
The soccer leagues have reported to social media platforms Facebook and Twitter that there has been an increasing volume of racist and threatening posts against players of color. Many of the women have reported misogynist comments. The leagues have requested the social media platforms improve comment moderation.
“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,” a statement from the leagues says. “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.”
The other organizations participating in the boycott are 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]. The boycott will continue through midnight GMT Monday.
“Racist behaviour of any form is unacceptable and the appalling abuse we are seeing players receive on social media platforms cannot be allowed to continue,” Premier League chief executive Richard Masters said. “The Premier League and our clubs stand alongside football in staging this boycott to highlight the urgent need for social media companies to do more in eliminating racial hatred.”