London Spitfire joins UK football clubs to stop online abuse

Overwatch League’s London Spitfire announced they are joining several UK football clubs in boycotting social media to show support against online discrimination and abuse.

Arsenal, Chelsea FC, Manchester City. and Liverpool PC have all issued posts on their social media accounts about boycotting social media and updated their Twitter headers to encourage social media platforms to take issues of racism and bullying on their platforms more seriously. According to an official statement from Manchester City, this includes creating more effective forms of verification.

The Call of Duty League’s London Royal Ravens, also added to the hashtag to promote visibility by tweeting ‘#StopOnlineAbuse’ as their contribution. At the time of publication, both London Spitfire and the Royal Ravens are the only esports organizations that have joined with some of the top football clubs.

#StopOnlineAbuse

— Carolina Royal Ravens (@RoyalRavens) April 30, 2021

London Spitfire keep all platforms silent

At the bottom of the London Spitfire’s official announcement regarding online abuse, they revealed that their Facebook, Instagram and Twitter accounts would be silent from April 30 to Monday, May 3. This aligns with what the other popular football clubs are doing over the weekend to raise awareness.

London Spitfire will be joining the number of UK sporting bodies in boycotting social media in a show of solidarity against online abuse. pic.twitter.com/CkjUvKqoJs

— London Spitfire (@Spitfire) April 30, 2021

The official Twitter account for the Premier League started things off early on April 30 by releasing a video that showcased a conversation between two retired professional, English football players. Alan Shearer and Ian Wright spoke about disturbing messages that Wright receives on social media daily.

The messages directed towards Wright detailed several racially motivated attacks at the retired football star. These messages opened a conversation between the two about how serious social media has gotten with its open policy for abuse and racism. The Premier League acknowledged the video would not stop online abuse, but simply raise awareness. Now, esports organizations also located in London have added themselves to the fold to stop online abuse.