The Professional Footballers’ Association has contacted all their members urging them to join the social media boycott next weekend, telling them “your collective voice and influence have a worldwide reach”.
The document sent to every professional player in the country, seen by i, encourages them to use their collective power to send a message to social media companies that their lack of action dealing with the racism and discrimination on their platforms is unacceptable.
The PFA is also targeting “major brands and sponsors” who work with players to try to get them to agree to join forces with football to shun the platforms. While a boycott will send a message to Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, experts believe the only way social media executives will listen is if they are hit financially by advertisers.
Football authorities announced on Saturday night that a major blackout is scheduled from Friday afternoon to midnight the following Monday, taking in a weekend of action across the game.
The PFA’s message to players read: “As players, your collective voice and influence have a worldwide reach. Your solidarity has power to hold multinational companies to account and sends a powerful message to a global audience – abusive behaviour is unacceptable.
“The PFA is calling on major brands and sponsors, who work with players, to switch off and pull their funding on the platforms during the boycott.”
Analysis conducted by the PFA of more than 800,000 tweets sent to a select group of players during Project Restart last year found that more than 3,000 were explicitly abusive and 56 per cent of those were racist.
The document added: “We know from our members’ first-hand accounts that online hate causes trauma. That impact of the abuse can also extend to family members and impressionable fans.
“We want more significant levels of action from the social media companies and platforms to take greater responsibility for tackling racism and discrimination on their channels.”
Sam Cunningham also writes a regular i football column is published in print and online on Tuesday mornings. You can follow him on Twitter @samcunningham
More from Sam Cunningham
- Arsenal’s players should ask for their money back after Kroenke’s £325m windfall
- Milner exclusive: On Liverpool, being ‘boring’ and Klopp’s hot-tub selfies
- Terry Butcher urges people to talk as he opens up about loss of his son
- The rise of Hashtag United: from YouTube kickabouts to EFL talent factory
- How English football could learn from the NBA
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3sTJ1Rk
Post a Comment