Football news - Thierry Henry to ditch social media, calls on firms to tackle online abuse

ByEurosport

Updated 26/03/2021 at 17:29 GMT

Former France international Thierry Henry said on Friday he will be disabling his social media accounts to protest against the platforms for not taking action over anonymous account holders who are guilty of racism and bullying online. "From tomorrow morning I will be removing myself from social media until the people in power are able to regulate their platforms," he said.

Arsenal legend Thierry Henry has revealed he is quitting social media in protest at platforms failing to take action against anonymous account holders who are guilty of racism and bullying online.

Henry, who recently stepped down as coach of MLS side Montreal, feels the social media platforms must do more to combat abuses online.

He has called for a tightening of restrictions, making it tough for users to create anonymous accounts that can be used to target others, and will disable his accounts in protest

Olympic Games Paris 2024

France boss Henry warns of 'long journey' as groups drawn for Olympic football

20/03/2024 at 23:16

• Why Kane won't leave Spurs despite Real Madrid, Man City links - Inside Football
• Alonso ends Monchengladbach speculation by ending Sociedad contract
• 'I would have died from the drink' - Former Man Utd keeper Carroll on alcohol addiction

"From tomorrow morning I will be removing myself from social media until the people in power are able to regulate their platforms with the same vigour and ferocity that they currently do when you infringe copyright," Henry said in a statement.

"The sheer volume of racism, bullying and resulting mental torture to individuals is too toxic to ignore. There HAS to be some accountability.

It is far too easy to create an account, use it to bully and harass without consequence and still remain anonymous. Until this changes, I will be disabling my accounts across all social platforms. I'm hoping this happens soon."

Henry's official Facebook page has 10 million followers while he has a further 2.7m on Instagram and 2.3m on Twitter.

There have been a string of incidents of racist abuse aimed at players around the world, and the FA said recently that Twitter, Facebook and Instagram were "havens for abuse."

Oliver Dowden, the secretary of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS), said nobody should be forced to disable their social media accounts due to abuse.

Ex-Liverpool star in frame for shock return as Salah worries persist – Euro Papers

"Social media firms must do more to tackle this and we are introducing new laws to hold platforms to account," he said.

"This is complex and we must get it right, but I'm absolutely determined to tackle racist abuse online."

Instagram last month announced a series of measures to tackle online abuse, including removing accounts of people who send abusive messages, and developing new controls to help reduce the abuse people see.

Twitter said in 2019 that "vile content has no place on our service" after it took action on more than 700 cases of "abuse and hateful conduct" related to soccer in Britain in two weeks and promised to continue its efforts to curb the problem.

Champions League

Mbappe or Henry? Ferdinand and Hargreaves debate who they would pick

06/03/2024 at 00:06

Premier League

'That was Thierry Henry-ish' - Ferdinand compares Martinelli to Arsenal legend after Palace brace

20/01/2024 at 17:38

Premier League

'He opened my eyes' - Henry talks Guardiola, Wenger as he begins France U-21 role

11/09/2023 at 12:09