Chelsea and Roman Abramovich are kickstarting the new season, which starts on Saturday, by continuing their stand against racism and discrimination online with a hard-hitting video part-funded by the club's owner.
Reece James suffered unacceptable racial abuse on social media last season which saw Ambramovich promise more funds to the club he owns in their battle against online abuse.
The film made by the club shows three young people dealing with the effects of online abuse. Though the type of abuse the young people face is different – ranging between homophobia, sexism and racism – we see the same destructive effects.
Chelsea have said the film aims to both highlight the impact online abuse is having on our society as well as encourage everyone to be part of stamping back, by reporting abuse whenever they see it.
The Blues launched their No To Hate campaign in March which set out to target five key areas: education, social media, support, opportunity and awareness.
The film is the latest component of No To Hate’s social media work, which started earlier this year with the release of a new social media policy and the engagement of the early warning risk intelligence agency, Crisp, to help the club identify and, where possible, remove hateful and discriminatory posts on social media.
Speaking on the film, Chelsea’s Chairman Bruce Buck said, “Chelsea are committed to combating hate in all its forms. Most of the abuse we see today comes from online.
"I hope people see through this powerful film the devastating effects that online hate can have on anyone, whether you’re a professional footballer or a kid at school. We want to kickstart this season by saying that there is no place for hate in football or our society and to empower our fans to report abuse where they see it.”
