Leeds United will join clubs across the country in a social media boycott next weekend as English football looks to make a stand over ongoing discriminatory abuse suffered by players and other connected to the game.
All professional teams across the Premier League, EFL, FA Women’s Super League and FA Women’s Championship will join the FA, PFA, LMA, PGMOL, Kick It Out and the FSA in temporarily switching off their Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts.
The 'blackout' will start at 3pm on Friday, April 30 and last until 23.59pm on Monday, May 3.
The boycott will cover a full weekend of fixtures across the bank holiday weekend, including Leeds United's trip to Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday.
Premier League Chief Executive Richard Masters said in a statement: “Racist behaviour of any form is unacceptable and the appalling abuse we are seeing players receive on social media platforms cannot be allowed to continue.
“The Premier League and our clubs stand alongside football in staging this boycott to highlight the urgent need for social media companies to do more in eliminating racial hatred. We will not stop challenging social media companies and want to see significant improvements in their policies and processes to tackle online discriminatory abuse on their platforms.
“Football is a diverse sport, which brings together communities and cultures from all backgrounds and this diversity makes the competition stronger. No Room For Racism represents all the work we do to promote equality, diversity and inclusion and tackling discrimination.”
A statement issued by the EFL explained more about why English football's clubs and governing bodies are coming together with this protest.
"As a collective, the game recognises the considerable reach and value of social media to our sport," it reads. "The connectivity and access to supporters who are at the heart of football remains vital.
"However, the boycott shows English football coming together to emphasise that social media companies must do more to eradicate online hate, while highlighting the importance of educating people in the ongoing fight against discrimination.
"In our letter of February 2021, English football outlined its requests of social media companies, urging filtering, blocking and swift takedowns of offensive posts, an improved verification process and re-registration prevention, plus active assistance for law enforcement agencies to identify and prosecute originators of illegal content. While some progress has been made, we reiterate those requests today in an effort to stem the relentless flow of discriminatory messages and ensure that there are real-life consequences for purveyors of online abuse across all platforms.
"Boycott action from football in isolation will, of course, not eradicate the scourge of online discriminatory abuse, but it will demonstrate that the game is willing to take voluntary and proactive steps in this continued fight.
"Finally, while football takes a stand, we urge the UK Government to ensure its Online Safety Bill will bring in strong legislation to make social media companies more accountable for what happens on their platforms, as discussed at the DCMS Online Abuse roundtable earlier this week."
