English football to boycott social media platforms

English football to boycott social media platforms
English football clubs and institutions will boycott Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for four days. Source: Getty Images
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Daily US Times: English Premier League and Women’s Super League clubs will join in a four-day boycott of big social media platforms in an effort to combat discrimination and abuse.

The boycott will start on 30 April.

The league bodies, as well as Football Association and other organisations, including anti-discrimination charity Kick it Out, will also be involved.

Kick it Out’s chairman Sanjay Bhandari said: “This boycott signifies our collective anger. Social media is now sadly a regular vessel for toxic abuse.”

descibing the move as ‘symbolic gesture’, Mr Bhandaru urged to those with power to to act and to create change.

He added: “We need social media companies to make their platforms a hostile environment for trolls rather than for the football family.”

David McGoldrick of Sheffield United, who was racially abused in social media platforms last year, welcomed the decision, saying: “It is about time. What has gone off on social media, it has happened to me.

He said the abuse in the social media has happened to many players. Something needs to happen, it is too easily to get racially abused on there.

On Saturday, while speaking to Sky Sports the striker added: “The Super League got cut off in 48 hours, why is racism on the back foot? It is bigger in my eyes.”

Brighton forward Neal Maupay has also been the subject of abuse in social media platforms and he told Sky Sports the boycott was a “very good” move.

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