Derby Futsal Join the Boycott

Derby Futsal Club will stand united with The FA, Kick It Out, Derbyshire County FA and the rest of the football community for a social media boycott from 15:00 BST on Friday 30 April to 23:59 BST on Monday 3 May, in response to the ongoing and sustained discriminatory abuse received online by players and many others connected to the game.

We will stay silent across our Twitter, Instagram and Facebook accounts. 

This is an attempt to raise awareness of the issues surrounding online abuse and highlight the greater preventative measures required by social media platforms to stop online abuse occurring.

Tackling online discriminatory abuse is a priority for us all. Whilst we are taking action by asking social media companies to do more we recognise that players across the game and many others connected to it from all backgrounds continue to receive sexist, racist and other forms of discriminatory abuse.

“Football is a diverse sport, which brings together communities and cultures from all backgrounds and this diversity makes the competition stronger.” Premier League chief executive, Richard Masters. 

Following English Football’s open letter to social media companies in February, Government hosted a roundtable with the social media companies and football stakeholders on Thursday 22 April. Therefore, a collective Weekend of Action, including a social media boycott, would help make a strong and well-timed collective statement in this space.

Therefore, alongside Premier League and EFL, The FA are asking clubs across the women’s football pyramid, National Football League and the grassroots game to join the ‘social media switch off’ over the weekend of 30 April – 3 May 2021. 

Just as we have seen the game unite against the creation of a European Super League, we are calling for as many people as possible to join us on this boycott to make a united stand against online abuse.