THIERRY HENRY hailed his ‘happiest moment’ as English football unites in a stand against racism and all online abuse.
The Prem, EFL and the women’s game will boycott Twitter, Facebook and Instagram over four days next weekend.
From 3pm on Friday, April 30, through to the end of Bank Holiday Monday on May 3, every club will switch off their social media accounts.
Prem legend Henry has been at the forefront of the fight after removing himself from social media last month.
He said: “English football coming off social media is a powerful statement. Everything that tries to destroy the beauty and the happiness of our game — we should fight it.
“This is my happiest moment. Football stands for something. Not only money.
“What happened with the European Super League was about standing up for values — and so is this.”
Championship sides Swansea and Birmingham were involved in week-long social media boycotts earlier this month.
This is my happiest moment. Football stands for something. Not only money.
Thierry Henry
A joint statement read: “The FA, Premier League, EFL, FA Women’s Super League, FA Women’s Championship, PFA, LMA, PGMOL, Kick It Out and the FSA will unite for a social media boycott in response to the ongoing and sustained discriminatory abuse received online by players and many others connected to football.
“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.
“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.
“While football takes a stand, we urge the UK Government to ensure its Online Safety Bill will bring in legislation to make social media companies more accountable.”
Premier League chief executive Richard Masters said: “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.”
Sanjay Bhandari, Kick It Out Chair, added: “Social media is now sadly a regular vessel for toxic abuse.
“This boycott signifies our anger at the damage this causes to the people who play, watch and work in the game.”
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
