We’ve seen with the Super League what unity in football can really do. We need that energy to fight discrimination on social-media platforms
THE entire football community must work together to tackle racism and discrimination, says Anton Ferdinand.
A social-media boycott is currently taking place as organisations look to highlight online abuse and encourage socialmedia giants to do more to eradicate hate on their platforms.
The campaign started at 3pm on Friday and a huge array of social channels will remain silent until 11.59pm tomorrow.
Having initially been driven by the leading English football organisations, other sporting bodies have joined, along with some major broadcasters such as BT Sport, Sky and talkSPORT.
European football’s governing body UEFA will be taking part, and president Aleksander Ceferin gave his unequivocal backing to the initiative. FIFA has also repeatedly expressed itself to be resolutely against racism and discrimination of any kind.
“Today – and every day – FIFA and football stand united against racism,” said FIFA president Gianni Infantino (below) in March.
Twitter also released a statement earlier this week – although it didn’t reference the boycott directly. The US-based business insisted racist abuse was the fault of a tiny minority and “a deep societal and complex issue in which everyone has a role to play”.
But Ferdinand says that change is needed at a greater pace.
The former player, 36, wants all social-media firms to be far more accountable for the content on their platforms – and he has urged world football’s governing bodies to keep piling on pressure.
“We’ve seen over the last 10 days, with the Super League announcement, what togetherness and unity can do,” Ferdinand said.
“It’s that unity within football which is why the Super League isn’t going ahead.
“Let’s show the same type of energy when it comes to fighting discrimination on the socialmedia platforms.
“You’ve seen how UEFA and FIFA came out against the Super League. But against racism and discrimination, they don’t act quickly at all. The Super League, was going to hit them in their pocket – so look at the sanctions that they threatened then.
“If a player were to play in the Super League, they wouldn’t be allowed to play in a World Cup.
“Why is THAT energy – and those levels of sanctions – only discussed when it comes to money?”
Premier League partners Nike, Budweiser, EA Sports and Barclays joined the social-media boycott. Adidas, who sponsor seven Premier League clubs, have also temporarily silenced their social accounts.
Puma, who sponsor Manchester City, West Brom, Crystal Palace and Newcastle told the Sunday Mirror: “Puma is supportive of our players and teams as they participate in the social-media boycott this weekend. We stand with the participants in their desire to hold
the platforms accountable to do their part in eliminating online hate speech.”
Ferdinand insists any sportswear provider that uses athletes as ambassadors must play their part in the process – and for the long term too.
“I would like to see more sponsors getting involved in this,” he added.
“They all need to stand shoulder to shoulder with us when it really matters. I want to stress that, because I think it’s a massive thing.
“Brands get paid a lot more than athletes do after they’ve pushed their products. It’s time they started getting more involved. If not, I’d like to know why.”
Ferdinand believes it is not only big businesses that need to take a zero-tolerance stance against online abuse.
The former West Ham, Sunderland and QPR star (below) reckons fans and players must keep calling out vile comments and reporting them to socialmedia companies.
“If you’re not going to get involved, you’re becoming part of the problem,” he added.
“As we’ve seen in society today – and over the last year – in demonstrations and marches, the diversity is there to see. It’s not just an ethnic-minority problem, it’s everyone’s problem.
“What it comes down to is do you really want to eradicate it?”
■■ BT’s #DrawTheLine campaign will see BT Sport highlight the issue of online abuse and introduce an anti online abuse policy, deleting, blocking or reporting hate and abuse on its channels. bt.com/drawtheline