English football fights against racism and discrimination suffered by footballers online. To make himself heard, he observed silence this weekend on social networks.

Since this Friday, April 30 at 3 p.m. (UTC), English football has been boycotting social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. The movement will last four days. It will therefore end on Monday, May 3 at 11:59 p.m. (UTC). This means that throughout the weekend Africans will not be able to follow the exploits of the continent’s stars playing in the Premier League online.

This decision highlights the racism and other discrimination suffered by footballers on social networks. UEFA and personalities like former footballer Samuel Eto’o support her.

What is expected of social media companies

In a statement, the boss of the Premier League, Richard Masters, explains that English football, through this boycott, is shouting its fed up with a phenomenon that continues to grow. He wants to “stress that social media companies need to do more to eradicate hate online, while stressing the importance of educating people in the ongoing fight against discrimination.”

Masters insists that “racist behavior in any form is unacceptable and the appalling abuse that players suffer on social media platforms cannot continue”.

Premier League: Sadio Mané, Naby Keïta …

Before this unprecedented mobilization of English football, football stars like Thierry Henry had set the tone. They had decided to unsubscribe from social networks, demanding stricter regulation.

In recent months, despite the mobilization around the Black Lives Matter movement, born in the United States after the assassination of George Floyd, acts of racism against footballers of color have been linked.

Example: at the beginning of April, after their elimination in the quarterfinals of the Champions League by Real Madrid, three Liverpool players, Sadio Mané , Naby Keïta and Trent Alexander-Arnold, were the target of racist comments on social networks.