Matchweek 34 only trending on the pitch with the Premier League's Social Media Boycott.

Sports Mole

No footballing hashtags this weekend when English football clubs take to the pitch. A united spirit among both clubs and players to boycott the social media platform such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram in the journey towards achieving an equal community. Premier League games have all been starting with knee bow since the commencement of project restart. A four-day boycott began on Friday April 30, 2021, and is set to end on Monday, May 3, 2021. 

The Premier League explained the move by the English football as one that is geared "to emphasize that social media companies must do more to eradicate online hate, while highlighting the importance of educating people in the ongoing fight against discrimination." The message is meant for social media companies and the UK government to ensure that the Online Safety Bill is enforced and that the social media companies improve on their accountability in regards to racial abuse.

Football players have been racially discriminated against on the online platform receiving insults, especially in the event they underperform in their matches. For instance, Axel Tuanzebe and Antony Martial faced racial abuse after the shock 1-2 loss to Sheffield United at home. Tuanzebe scored an own goal that proved to be a decider while Martial was misfiring on the other end. The performance left fans angry but attacking the players on their racial backgrounds was not the best way to channel out their disappointments. Such occurrences dented the player's confidence and affected their psychology. The behavior is felt across the league regardless of the team a player is representing. The irony of all this is that most of the chants come from the club's fans.

The Premier League chief came out before the boycott with clear sentiments "Racist behavior of any form is unacceptable, and 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."

The European Club Association and the UEFA stand in solidarity with the English football club's stand against racism. The UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin made it clear that racial abuse on the pitch and the online platforms is unacceptable, and it would require a collective effort from local authorities, football clubs, and the social media giants to shun the behavior.

The collective efforts have been stretched to Premier League sponsors to come in solidarity to boycott social media as a sign of shunning online racial abuse.

Football is an equal game that embraces diversity and operates on everyone is equal despite their differences. Football unites; therefore, let us not allow racial discrimination to separate the beautiful sport.