Katie Price's 'track a troll' petition now has over half a million signatures
Following the shocking online abuse received by England's footballers
Last updated 13th Jul 2021
An online petition set up by former glamour model Katie Price has received a new wave of signatures following the shocking racist abuse received by England footballers Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka, after the trio missed penalties during the Euro 2020 final against Italy on Sunday 11th July.
Katie, who has been campaigning for years to stop online abuse received by her disabled son Harvey Price, set up the petition called 'track a troll' in March this year, with the goal to make verified ID a requirement for opening a social media account.
Although it received a massive 100,000 signatures earlier this year, the recent abuse following England's defeat has now raised the numbers even further, with over 600,000 people signing the petition at the time of writing.
The petition reads: 'Make it a legal requirement when opening a new social media account, to provide a verified form of ID. Where the account belongs to a person under the age of 18 verify the account with the ID of a parent/guardian, to prevent anonymised harmful activity, providing traceability if an offence occurs.'
Following Monday's horrific abuse online towards Rashford, Saka and Sancho, Katie wrote on Instagram: 'THE VILE RACIST ABUSE ENGLAND PLAYERS ARE NOW FACING, PROVES WHY THIS PETITION IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER!! CLICK THE LINK IN MY BIO TO SIGN! 👊 #TRACKATROLL'. (sic)
The mum-of-five then took to her Instagram Story this morning (Tuesday 13th July), writing: 'WOW!! This is incredible! Over half a million of you have now signed my petition! Thank you! Thank you! #Trackatroll'. (sic)
As well as Katie, celebrities such as Laura Whitmore and Leigh-Anne Pinnock have also shared the petition, urging their fans to help make a change.
Manchester United and England footballer Marcus Rashford also broke his silence after his mural in Withington was defaced.
He wrote on Instagram: 'I don’t even know where to start and I don’t even know how to put into words how I’m feeling at this exact time. I’ve had a difficult season, I think that’s been clear for everyone to see and I probably went into that final with a lack of confidence. I’ve always backed myself for a penalty but something didn’t feel quite right. During the long run up I was saving myself a bit of time and unfortunately the result was not what I wanted. I felt as though I had let my teammates down. I felt as if I’d let everyone down. A penalty was all I’d been asked to contribute for the team. I can score penalties in my sleep so why not that one? It’s been playing in my head over and over since I struck the ball and there’s probably not a word to quite describe how it feels. Final. 55 years. 1 penalty. History.
'All I can say is sorry. I wish it had of gone differently. Whilst I continue to say sorry I want to shoutout my teammates. This summer has been one of the best camps I’ve experienced and you’ve all played a role in that. A brotherhood has been built that is unbreakable. Your success is my success. Your failures are mine. I’ve grown into a sport where I expect to read things written about myself. Whether it be the colour of my skin, where I grew up, or, most recently, how I decide to spend my time off the pitch. I can take critique of my performance all day long, my penalty was not good enough, it should have gone in but I will never apologise for who I am and where I came from.
'I’ve felt no prouder moment than wearing those three lions on my chest and seeing my family cheer me on in a crowd of 10s of thousands. I dreamt of days like this. The messages I’ve received today have been positively overwhelming and seeing the response in Withington had me on the verge of tears. The communities that always wrapped their arms around me continue to hold me up. I’m Marcus Rashford, 23 year old, black man from Withington and Wythenshawe, South Manchester. If I have nothing else I have that.
'For all the kind messages, thank you. I’ll be back stronger. We’ll be back stronger. MR10'. (sic)
You can sign Katie Price's 'Track a Troll' petition right here.