The
Duke of Cambridge has branded the racist abuse directed at footballers
"despicable" and said it "must stop now" after Manchester United's Marcus
Rashford became the latest player targeted.
William, who is the president of the Football Association, spoke out on
Sunday night after the Professional Footballers' Association accused social
media companies of lacking the willingness to clamp down on racist posts.
Chelsea defender Reece James, West Brom's Romaine Sawyers and Rashford's
team-mates Axel Tuanzebe and Anthony Martial all suffered online racist
abuse this week.
Rashford was then targeted after United's 0-0 draw at Arsenal on Saturday
evening, prompting an investigation from Greater Manchester Police and
placing further scrutiny on social media platforms as the UK Government
plans to introduce new laws on online abuse in 2021.
The Duke of Cambridge tweeted: "Racist abuse - whether on the pitch, in the
stands, or on social media - is despicable and it must stop now.
"We all have a responsibility to create an environment where such abuse is
not tolerated, and those who choose to spread hate and division are held
accountable for their actions. That responsibility extends to the platforms
where so much of this activity now takes place.
"I commend all those players, supporters, clubs and organisations who
continue to call out and condemn this abuse in the strongest terms."
The PFA called on social networks to demonstrate they are truly committed to
tackling a problem it says has been "at crisis point" for two years.
"We have been very clear that social media platforms are an extension of a
professional footballer's workplace," the PFA said in a statement.
"Every effort must be taken to protect them - and all other users - from
racist abuse while using social media. Offline consequences for online hate
crimes must be pursued whenever possible.
"Enough time has been given to the networks to demonstrate a willingness to
act. We have been at crisis point with this issue for two years. Racism
causes trauma and online abuse presents a significant risk to people's
mental health and well-being.
"During our initial meetings with the social networks, they advised us that
players could block content that they find offensive. We do not believe the
onus should be on an individual to manage the racism they receive.
"With the scale of racist abuse happening on their platforms, we are
publicly asking why Twitter, Facebook and Instagram will not prevent users
from being able to send explicitly racist terms and emojis? There is no
context in which
some words are acceptable.
"These steps won't banish all racist abuse, but it would be a start,
demonstrating that the platforms value the diverse membership of Twitter,
Facebook and Instagram's communities. While racist abuse is allowed to
continue on each platform, we can only conclude that this is a choice by the
companies running the social networks."
A spokesperson for Facebook, who own Instagram, told Sky Sports News: "There
is no place for racism on Instagram and we are committed to removing it when
we find it.
"We have taken action in this case by removing accounts and comments and are
continuing to investigate.
"We know there is more to do and we will continue to work closely with
clubs, players and football authorities to investigate instances of
discrimination and collectively tackle this issue."
A Twitter spokesperson said they have clear policies on abusive behaviour
and hateful conduct and take action when they identify violations.
In a statement, Twitter added: "Racist behaviour has no place on our service
and when we identify accounts that violate any of the Twitter Rules, we take
enforcement action."
Iffy Onuora, the 53-year-old former Gillingham and Huddersfield striker who
is set to become the Premier League's first head of equality, diversity and
inclusion, also called on social media companies to act faster to remove
abusive content.
Onuora told the PA news agency: "A lot of this is now down to the
responsibility of the social media companies.
"In my opinion, they've been far too slow to take down harmful material, not
just in terms of the abuse that footballers have suffered but abuse
generally. There is technology out there that can protect this a lot quicker
than they've been minded to move.
"The devil's in the detail but that has started to come now, and the
Government pressure from above will be far greater on social media companies
to take action promptly."
Greater Manchester Police said a number of abusive comments directed at
United players had been reported and the force would be "investigating these
crimes thoroughly".
"Nobody should be subject to such abuse and it is deeply upsetting not only
to those that suffer it, but to all those who come across this awful
language too," GMP said in a statement. "These hateful words have no place
anywhere in our society whether online or otherwise."
Rashford branded the racist abuse "humanity and social media at its worst".
He added on Twitter on Saturday night: "Yes I'm a black man and I live every
day proud that I am.
"No one, or no one comment, is going to make me feel any different. So sorry
if you were looking for a strong reaction, you're just simply not going to
get it here. I'm not sharing screenshots. It would be irresponsible to do so
and as you can imagine there's nothing original in them."
Hate Won't Stop Us
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For more information, please visit: www.skysports.com/hatewontstopus
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Kick It Out reporting racism
Kick It Out is football's equality and inclusion organisation - working
throughout the football, educational and community sectors to challenge
discrimination, encourage inclusive practices and campaign for positive
change.
www.kickitout.org
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