Will boycott prove social media’s just too much trouble?

Surrey, Nottinghamshire and Royal Challengers Bangalore, Ajax, Boston Red Sox and Washington Football Team (formerly the Redskins), England, Team GB and Europe in the Ryder Cup. ‘I’m looking forward to #SuperLeague,’ Shipman concluded. You can imagine what happened next, and there’s the funny thing: maybe he could not. Within an hour, he posted a wide-eyed follow-up. ‘After five years of Brexit Twitter and occasional visits to Royal Twitter, invigorating to discover Football Twitter today. Haven’t been abused as effectively since I was at school.’ This is an admired political journalist who is operating with 1.93 per cent of the followers of Paul Pogba. Can you imagine how much vileness spills into Pogba’s world? When a subject is more emotive than the divides of Brexit, it rather illustrates the problem sport faces. The boycott may serve its purpose but there could come a point when interaction simply isn’t worth the trouble. If it hasn’t already arrived.