Footballers in England and Wales are to boycott social media today in protest of the racial abuse suffered on social networks.
The latest abuse suffered happened this week when Manchester United captain Ashley Young got racially abused on Twitter.
Reacting to the incident, Watford captain Troy Deeney said “enough is enough”.
“On Friday we are sending a message to anyone that abuses players – or anyone else – whether from the crowd or online, that we won’t tolerate it within football,” said Deeney.
“The boycott is just one small step, but the players are speaking out with one voice against racism.”
Another player, Danny Rose who suffered racist chanting during a Euro 2020 qualifier in Montenegro last month said he “can’t wait to see the back of football”.
“I don’t want any future players to go through what I’ve been through in my career,” said Rose.
“Collectively, we are simply not willing to stand by while too little is done by football authorities and social media companies to protect players from this disgusting abuse.”
The #Enough campaign starts at 09:00 BST on Friday and runs until 09:00 BST on Saturday.
Footballers have been encouraged to post a #Enough graphic on their social media platforms before the boycott.
Manchester United defender Chris Smalling added:
“The time has come for Twitter, Instagram and Facebook to consider regulating their channels, taking responsibility for protecting the mental health of users regardless of age, race, sex or income.”
The Professional Football Association said the boycott was the “first step in a longer campaign to tackle racism in football”.
“The boycott acts as a show of unity by the players, and a call for stronger action to be taken by social networks and footballing authorities in response to racist abuse both on and off the pitch,” the PFA said in a statement.
Twitter has reacted by saying g it is “suspending three times more abusive accounts within 24 hours after receiving a report than this time last year”.
“We’ll continue building on this work to prioritise the safety of our users,” it added.
Incidents of racist abuse in 2018-19
