Next weekend, English football clubs will boycott social media to protest online racism targeting players.

"They are launching an unprecedented movement in Europe that we can welcome," said our editorialist Virginie Phulpin. 

EDITORIAL

For three days, the English clubs will be very discreet on the Internet. And for good reason, the clubs of the Premier League, the second division and the Women's Super League will boycott social networks next weekend with the aim of protesting against the racist insults to which players are victims on these platforms. An initiative welcomed by our consultant Virginie Phulpin, who hopes that other countries, but also other sports, will follow this example. 

Chelsea and Manchester City could have started today.

As Champions League semi-finalists, the message would have been even stronger.

In addition, they have a European coup attempt to be forgiven.

Because the English clubs do not always show a good example ... They were still six to want to create the Super League.

But there, it must be admitted, they are launching an unprecedented movement in Europe that we can welcome.

No miracle solution ...

It must be said that since the beginning of the season, it is the fair to racial hatred on the networks.

From Paul Pogba to Marcus Rashford, we can no longer count the players targeted.

They miss a pass or a penalty?

Courageous anonymous accounts pour out racist insanity against them.

English football officials did write to Twitter and Facebook executives asking them to find a solution, but the only response they got was "we can't censor accounts."

Really ?

Since this is so, football clubs just have to fend for themselves.

This blackout can allow Mark Zuckerberg and company as well as haters of the keyboard to think for two seconds.  

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Of course, a boycott will not be the silver bullet to eradicate racism online.

But the struggle has nonetheless changed dimension.

Cut your news feed for three days at the end of the season, when everything is playing out, when everyone is scrolling through the football content, there is a chance that it will be more effective than a

"No to racism"

t-shirt

.

... but a first response

It is a first step and it can give ideas to other countries.

As in France for example.

Because this hatred online, our athletes know it well too, and not only in football.

We have already spoken of tennis players who are very often victims of insults and even threats on the networks.

Gaël Monfils experienced it again this year.

So we can always find that a boycott of social networks for three days remains light compared to, for example, the boycott of matches that NBA clubs launched last summer in the United States.

But we are talking about racism online, and it is an online response, therefore rather appropriate.

Since even the leaders of the networks do not know or do not want to react, it is interesting to see football take things in hand.

We do not expect a miracle from this blackout.

But this is a first response.