Manchester United have conducted an analysis into online abuse of their players from September 2019 to February 2021 and found 3,300 posts targeting them and a 350% increase across the period.
According to the study: “Eighty-six percent of these posts were racist, while 8% were homophobic or transphobic - [and] activity peaked in January 2021 with over 400 abusive player posts recorded. The vast majority of racist posts contained either the N-word (and variants on the spelling) or emojis used with racist intent [including] monkey, chimp, banana, gorilla.”
United, who are part of a sport-wide social media boycott that starts on Friday, said they had taken action against six individuals who abused Tottenham’s Son Heung-min online following United’s victory in north London on 9 April.
“Regretfully, suspensions have been issued, subject to appeal, to three season-ticket holders, two official members and one individual on the season-ticket waiting list,” the club said.
The study also highlighted “user-to-user abuse within the football community” and identified a sharp rise from last summer, with 43% of these posts racist, and 7% homophobic or transphobic.
Richard Arnold, group managing director, said: “While these numbers are shocking, they do only represent a 0.01% of conversations that take place on social media about the club and the players. By taking part in this boycott this weekend, we, alongside the rest of English football, want to shine a light on the issue. It will generate debate and discussion and will raise awareness of the levels of abuse our players and our fans receive.”
Ben Fisher, our EFL specialist, reports on Bolton, one win away from a return to League One.
Full round of EFL action this weekend, and it was their awards last night
Norwich City’s Emi Buendia has been named the Championship player of the season.
Peterborough United forward Jonson Clarke-Harris won the League One player of the season award.
Cambridge United’s Paul Mullin was named player of the year in League Two.
The Albion Rovers striker David Cox has said he is retiring from football after allegedly being mocked by a Stenhousemuir player over his mental health during Thursday’s 1-0 win in a Scottish League Two fixture.
Cox, who was named on the substitutes’ bench for the game at Ochilview Park, walked out of the stadium at half-time after the incident. The 32-year old said in a video on Facebook he was quitting the game after “again having to deal with some mental health shouts at football”.
Manchester City’s approach mirrors that of the football family. Suppose the next question is whether the social media companies take any notice.
This is the weekend the Premier League title could be won, and if it is the celebrations will take place during a social media blackout from clubs, players, football authorities, newspapers, websites, broadcasters and even some journalists.
Manchester City’s Saturday lunchtime game at Crystal Palace holds the key. Win that, and Liverpool win at Manchester United on Sunday and the socially-distanced celebrations outside the boozers of Heaton Norris can begin.
Before that, Leicester can take a huge step towards securing Champions League qualification by winning at Southampton. Their last visit there? A 9-0 win, of course. Saturday sees Brighton, just about the only team who can get pulled into the mire, hist Leeds. Though should Chelsea beat Fulham and take their own grip on the top four then Graham Potter et al might be able to breathe easier. Later on, Everton play Aston Villa in the race for seventh with Tottenham, and perhaps an entry into whatever the Europa Conference League is.
To quote ESPN’s Dale Johnson, the expert on such things.
The FA Cup final is between Chelsea and Leicester, and if the winners also finish inside the top 6 in the Premier League then 7th enters the UEFA Europa Conference League.
There is a chance that Chelsea win the FA Cup and finish 7th or 8th, and in that event 6th would go into the UEFA Europa Conference League.
Sunday begins with all-but-safe Newcastle host Spotify-targeted Arsenal, who have the Europa League semi-final second leg on their minds. Sunday night sees Tottenham hunting the Europa Conference League, welcome Sheffield United, rock-bottom but coming off beating Brighton last week.
There’s a double-header on Monday, and that will reduce Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher’s talk time; West Brom are chasing a miracle and have a derby match with excitement’s Wolves in early evening. And West Ham have a chance to keep the pressure on the top four with the later game at Burnley.
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