Racist abusers banned from football stadiums in England

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirmed Wednesday that the laws banning the presence of rioters in football stadiums in England will also include those who direct racial abuse at players on social media.

This amendment to the laws comes after the racist insults against three black players in the England national team, after losing the European Cup final to Italy on Sunday.

"What we're doing today is taking practical steps to ensure that football's system of sanctioning people is changed so that if you're guilty... of online racial abuse of footballers, you don't go to the match," Johnson told MPs. The rules were set up in 1989 to prevent known English hooligans from causing trouble at home and away matches, the Football Banning Laws Authority manages.

Asked about the issue in Parliament, young Home Secretary Victoria Atkins, whose department is responsible for this body, acknowledged that using these laws to prosecute abusers who are often outside the country would be "complicated". "But we would very much like to work with football clubs and others to make sure these laws have the authority that we all want," she added. Greater Manchester Police said they had arrested a 37-year-old man on suspicion of racist abuse on social media against England players. The offense is punishable by imprisonment for a maximum of two years and/or an unlimited monetary fine.

The government is under mounting pressure to tackle the issue, with an online petition launched Monday calling for a life ban on racial abusers to attend matches, both online and offline, and has garnered more than a million signatures.

Johnson also met with representatives from social media companies Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, TikTok and Instagram.

"If they fail to remove offensive content, they will face fines of up to 10 percent of their global revenue, and we know they have the technology to do so," he said.

But opposition politicians called the moves insufficient and too late as they attacked Johnson's record on racism in his previous life as a newspaper columnist.

Follow our latest local and sports news and the latest political and economic developments via Google news