Swansea’s social media boycott for a week after wave of racist abuse is ‘better than doing nothing’, says Simon Jordan, Birmingham and Rangers also announce boycotts

Simon Jordan supported Swansea City’s decision to have a seven-day sabbatical to post content on its social media channels in a bid to tackle abuse and discrimination online.

Three Swansea players – Yan Dhanda, Ben Cabango and Jamal Lowe – were recently victims of racist abuse on social media and the Championship club said ‘enough is enough’ by taking a firm stand.

Liverpool trio Trent Alexander-Arnold, Naby Keita and Sadio Mane have become the latest in a long list of players to be targeted on social media following Tuesday’s Champions League quarter-final loss to Real Madrid.

Premier League champions have called for the ‘strongest possible preventive measures’ on the issue and Swansea wrote to Twitter and Facebook to urge stricter police measures and penalties for those recognized culprits of sending abuse online.

Swansea said in a statement: “As of 5pm today, all the players in the first team, those in the professional stage of the academy (under 23 and under 18), Swansea City Ladies, Community Trust, senior club staff, and official club channels (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Snapchat, YouTube, and TikTok) will not post any content for a period of seven days.

“As a football club, we have seen many of our players abused heinously in the last seven weeks alone, and we believe it is right to take a stand against behavior that is a plague on our sport and society as a whole.

“We will always be steadfast in our support for our players, staff, supporters and the community we proudly represent, and we stand united as a club on this issue.

“We also want to stand alongside players from other clubs who have had to endure despicable discrimination on social media platforms.

“As a club, we are also keenly aware of how social media can impact the mental health of players and staff, and we hope our strong position will highlight the wider effects of abuse.

Additionally, CEO Julian Winter sent a letter to Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and Facebook Founder, Chairman and CEO Mark Zuckerberg to reiterate the club’s position and desire to see social media companies introduce stricter police measures and penalties for those guilty of the appalling and cowardly abuse which has unfortunately become far too common. “

And speaking on Thursday’s White & Jordan show, the former Crystal Palace owner praised the Swans’ approach, saying, “Nobody needs social media. We choose to have social media.

“Obviously it’s a seven day window, so people will question how long it is.

“What’s important is to keep the news out in the media so if you keep doubling down and Swansea does it, then with due respect to Swansea a Manchester United comes out and does it then you get that momentum. .

He continued, “If you keep it in the media, you might get some of these changes, due to direct messaging being removed from people who can’t help themselves with their outbursts.

“And anonymity can also become increasingly contested. It is football that throws its weight behind and shows the courage of their convictions.

“The problem is when you say seven days you put yourself back in the same space, but keep the noise and the news cycle going around social media.

“It’s better than doing nothing. This has the effect of keeping people focused on the fact that social media is working in a way that is not feasible. “

Birmingham has announced that it will stand in solidarity with Swansea, announcing its boycott from 6 p.m. Thursday.

Meanwhile, Scottish champions Rangers have announced they will boycott social media from 7 p.m.