London sports clubs join social media boycott to tackle racism
It's taking place across the bank holiday weekend
Sports teams, players, sponsors and governing bodies across the UK are joining together this weekend in a show of solidarity against racism.
A number of accounts from across differing sports will go silent on social media for three days from 3pm on Friday until a minute before midnight on Monday.
It's not just official team accounts which are taking part, governing bodies, sponsors and many sportspeople themselves are all going silent on social media.
One London team getting involved is Erith and Belverdere FC.
Last weekend one of their youth games was disrupted when a player on the opposite team reportedly racially abused one of theirs.
"That poor kid has gone home and his life's in tatters at the moment," says Marlon Patterson, an ex-professional player who now captains and coaches Erith and Belvedere FC.
He says on and off the pitch, abuse can have a massive impact: "There's guys that I know that are coming through in the game, young lads, they've faced scrutiny on the internet, and some of their careers have just dropped off."
Social media blackout started with football
Last week, a coalition of English football’s largest governing bodies – including the Football Association, Premier League and EFL – revealed they would go silent on social media following a rise in abuse directed at players and other individuals within the game.
This weekend’s boycott follows social media blackouts by Swansea, Birmingham and Rangers in recent weeks, with Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson stating he would be willing to follow Arsenal great Thierry Henry in coming offline altogether in protest against racist behaviour.
Other sports join the boycott
English and Welsh cricket will join football’s boycott of social media this weekend in a show of solidarity against racism and discrimination.
The England and Wales Cricket Board, all 18 first-class counties, the eight women’s regional teams and the Professional Cricketers’ Association will all boycott platforms.
Sponsors show solidarity against racism
Adidas, which manufactures more than a third of Premier League kits, including the likes of Manchester United, Arsenal and Leicester, is stopping all advertising across its platforms this weekend.
Barclays, title sponsor of the WSL and the official bank of the Premier League, will support the blackout, with no social media posts on the Barclays Football pages of Facebook and Instagram nor the Barclays Footy Twitter account, while the company’s other social channels will avoid all football-related activity.
Budweiser, which sponsors the England team, is also signing up, with online car retailer Cazoo, shirt sponsors of Aston Villa and Everton, on Tuesday becoming the first major football sponsor to announce its support.
Social media blackout could be debated in Parliament
The social media boycott to protest against online racism could become a matter for debate in the House of Commons as MP Julie Elliott wants Parliament to discuss the issues it raises.
Elliott, a member of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, has written to the Leader of the House of Commons requesting Parliamentary time be put aside to debate the boycott.