Southampton: Saints part of potential social media boycott next week

Southampton and all other Premier League clubs could boycott social media next weekend in a bid to put a stop to racism and abuse online.

This is according to a report from the Daily Mail, who claim the period between Friday 23rd April and Monday 26th April has been put forward as a potential timeframe for the movement.

Racist abuse aimed at players on social media channels shockingly appears on a weekly basis now and many stars have chosen to post screenshots of the disgusting messages they receive to try and educate those who may be unaware of ongoing issues.

Saints had their own situation to deal with back in February when Alex Jankewitz was subject to discrimination online following the 9-0 loss at Manchester United.

Southampton and other clubs weighing up best action

In response to Jankewitz’s abuse, Saints issued a strong statement – confirming that abuse of any kind was not acceptable and that the views of those posting abuse did not represent the values of supporters of the club.

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Despite the threat of lifetime bans and criminal charges, abuse continues. Spurs’ Son Hueng-Min was targeted over the weekend after his side’s 3-1 loss to Manchester United.

Via the Daily Mail’s report, clubs are still assessing whether a blackout on social media would bring about change or not.

Their move would be a powerful one and would unify the Premier League as one, but the fact that abuse continues after the Black Lives Matter movement and no strong action is being taken by the likes of Twitter and Instagram will mean concerns about the future even after this.

This potential action would, of course, receive a lot of backing from the overwhelming majority of fans who follow their teams without stooping to the lows of discrimination.

Tougher measures from social media companies are being called for by many and the UK Government has also considered significant fines if changes are not made in the near future.

If a social media boycott does is decided on, it will be hoped that the lack of valuable engagement on club’s channels – most with millions of followers – would be enough to force companies into a change at their end.