The Football Association says the UK government should introduce legislation to compel social media companies to do more to stop online abuse.
It comes as a four-day social media boycott comes to an end, during which football organisations, clubs, players, major businesses and media outlets fell silent in a bid to urge platforms to enact change.
An FA statement – also posted by England captain Harry Kane – said the boycott of social media was to “demonstrate our collective anger. But this won’t eradicate abuse on its own.
“We will continue to challenge social media companies to make changes to their platforms, urge Government to introduce strong legislation quickly and request that individuals call out and report online abuse when they see it.”
The Premier League, EFL and all member clubs called for social media companies to take definitive action to end all forms of abuse.
“English football, sporting organisations and people across the world united over the weekend to boycott social media, challenging platforms to do more to stop online discriminatory abuse,” said a statement.
“We now call on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to use their power to affect change and ensure there are real-life sanctions for online hate.
“We invite these social media companies to respond to our requests for action.”
The social media boycott also saw sports stars beyond football join the protest over the weekend, including Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton.
He said on Friday: "Let's not accept abuse as part of sport, but instead, let's be the ones who make a difference for future generations".
