Soccer players launch social media boycott over racial abuse

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Soccer players in England are backing a 24-hour boycott of social media to demand a crackdown on racial abuse on the platforms.

Following a series of high-profile cases, the Professional Footballers’ Association has gathered support from players to stay off Twitter, Facebook and Instagram from 9 a.m. Friday until 9 a.m. Saturday.

“Football has a problem with racism,” England and Tottenham defender Danny Rose said. “I don’t want any future players to go through what I’ve been through in my career.”

After being targeted with monkey noises while playing for England in Montenegro last month, Rose said he couldn’t wait for his career to end to escape racism in football.

“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,” Rose said.

Unlike Rose, Manchester United defender Chris Smalling does have public accounts on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

“Throughout my career I have developed a thick skin against verbal abuse, justifying it as just ‘part of the game’ but 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,” Smalling said.

“I understand that I am in an extremely privileged position and I am deeply thankful for that but, at the end of the day, we are all human.”

Earlier this week, Manchester United condemned abuse directed at Ashley Young online following the club’s Champions League exit at Barcelona.

Watford captain Troy Deeney was also targeted with racial insults on Instagram earlier this month after scoring in an FA Cup semifinal win over Wolverhampton.

“My teammates and I have been on the receiving end of well documented abuse from a minority of narrow-minded, ignorant people both on social media and on the pitch,” Deeney said. “Any racism in football is too much, and it’s essential that we fight it wherever and whenever we see it.

“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. The boycott is just one small step, but the players are speaking out with one voice against racism — enough is enough.”

The PFA has distributed a red graphic featuring the words “Enough. Make a stand against racism.”

“While there has been progress in the battle against racism within football, there are still far too many instances of players being abused,” said Leicester captain Wes Morgan, who won the Premier League in 2016. “I’ve heard it in the stands and I’ve seen it online. We all have. That’s why, as players, we are coming together on Friday to say that more must now be done to eradicate racism from our game.”

Twitter said earlier this week that it uses “proprietary-built internal technology to proactively find abusive content” but anti-discrimination organization Kick It Out asked for more serious action.

“Football is more popular than it has ever been, but we have a discontented generation of players who won’t stand for racist abuse any longer. Enough is enough,” Arsenal and England women’s team forward Danielle Carter said. “We want to see social media companies take proper responsibility for racist abuse on their platforms and we want them to find solutions.”