PFA SLAM TWITTER AS 31 RACIST POSTS STAY VISIBLE

THE PFA have blasted Twitter for its failure to deal with abusive posts aimed at footballers. Sportsmail revealed yesterday that the Government were open to taking legal action against social media companies amid huge concerns from clubs that firms such as Twitter and Instagram are actively preventing online abusers from being prosecuted. The apparent reluctance of Twitter to react appropriately was further exposed by the players’ union last night with the release of a new study. Following a probe into online abuse in the Premier League during

Project Restart, the PFA compiled a list of 56 racist and discriminatory tweets, directed at players such as Raheem Sterling and Wilfried Zaha, which were posted during the study period and remained live on the platform. In November, the union notified Twitter of these messages and offending accounts, many of which posted other abusive messages. A PFA investigation showed that 31 out of the 56 highlighted posts are still visible and live. In addition, the PFA provided Twitter with another 18 messages posted before the reporting period that included targeted racist abuse of players, with 15 of the 18 tweets still visible and live. Simone Pound, PFA director of equality diversity and inclusion, said: ‘Extreme racist abuse remains visible on Twitter five months after we provided them with clear evidence of abusive content. We need to see them addressing the issue and finding solutions.’