English football clubs to boycott social media for 4 days to protest against online racism

England is one of the top nations for club football, having produced the maximum top clubs in Europe. The Premier League happens to be the most competitive football league in Europe. Meanwhile, England has also seen quite some online racism against players of late.

It is undoubtedly the most competitive in the world when it comes to English football. The English Premier League is considered the ultimate competition in domestic football, which possesses the maximum number of top clubs.

Consequently, it bolsters some of the top players worldwide, with as many as seven top clubs fighting for the prize in the EPL. However, the intensity is often so much that any deficient performance by the club or its player/s is taken seriously.

Furthermore, fans tend to criticise the poor performance, as they have every right to do it. However, some take it too far by indulging in racial abuse for some of the players.

The English football governing body, The Football Association, along with the clubs, has often taken strict measures to curb online racism. Meanwhile, to protest against the same, the EPL clubs have come up with a new campaign.

The EPL and several other English clubs from different tiers would boycott social media for four days, between April 30-May 3. During this period, the clubs would not be active on their social media handles, i.e. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc.

"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," said FA in a statement.

"This needs to change quickly, and we continue to urge social media companies to act now to address this. We will not stop talking about this issue and will continue to work with government in ensuring that the Online Safety Bill gives sufficient regulatory and supervisory powers to Ofcom. Social media companies need to be held accountable if they continue to fall short of their moral and social responsibilities to address this endemic problem," said FA's director of international relations, Edleen John, in the statement.

Meanwhile, global anti-racism influencer, Kick it Out's chairman, Sanjay Bhandari, told BBC Sport, "This boycott signifies our collective anger. Social media is now sadly a regular vessel for toxic abuse. By removing ourselves from the platforms, we are making a symbolic gesture to those with power. We need you to act. We need you to create change. We need social media companies to make their platforms a hostile environment for trolls rather than for the football family."

In the past couple of months, numerous players have been subject to online racism. It was recently Manchester United's Brazilian defender, Fred, and Sheffield United's David McGoldrick, who were at the receiving end of the same.