EFL chairman Rick Parry: We are working on ways to combat 'completely unacceptable' online abuse

English Football League chairman Rick Parry says the organisation and clubs are working to find answers and decide what action they can take to combat online abuse.

Online abuse, discrimination and racism have surged in recent months - particularly on social media platforms - with many footballers subjected to targeted hate.

Just within the past few days, Colin Kazim-Richards and other Derby players, as well as Reading captain Liam Moore, have been targeted online, with Moore ultimately deactivating his Twitter account.

Speaking to Sky Sports, EFL chairman Parry said: "We are trying to find answers. Enough is enough. It has to stop. There’s simply no excuse for it.

"There are so many positives [of having football online], but unfortunately, as ever, a minority have chosen to abuse it. And they’ve hidden behind that cloak of anonymity.

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"We all know how easy it is to be brave as a keyboard warrior. But it’s got to stop."

The UK Government is set to bring an Online Harms Bill in front of parliament this year, which aims to hold technology companies to greater levels of accountability concerning the regulation of abuse.

Parry believes it will be helpful in forcing social media platforms to be more proactive in preventing abuse.

He said: "The online companies have frankly got to do a lot more. We are fully supportive of the [upcoming bill] - that’s going to be really important.

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"First of all, to make sure the content doesn’t get on there in the first place. Secondly, that it’s taken down straight away, no hesitation, no prevarication. More can definitely be done there.

"Thirdly, that we identify the perpetrators and we can then ban them, as clubs. But also, where necessary, we can ensure there are prosecutions.

"It’s just completely unacceptable and it’s spoiling things for everybody else. Enough is enough. Action has to be taken.

"We are very serious about it. The clubs are very concerned. The players simply don’t deserve it, it’s just not right."

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Some clubs have taken matters into their own hands, as Championship sides Birmingham City and Swansea City have stepped away from their social media channels for a period of seven days in the wake of recent incidents.

Parry believes it could lead others to follow.

"Yes, I can [see more teams boycotting social media]," Parry added. "Let’s see what unfolds over the next few days but very often a movement starts with a couple of steps and then people join in.

"We had conversations with the clubs last week and the feelings are genuinely very strong. So watch this space."

EFL chairman Rick Parry was speaking ahead of Wednesday's Day of Action in the EFL.

All 72 clubs across the three divisions aim to get out into the community and show the role football can play in positively changing people's lives.

Facebook: We are committed to doing more

Facebook, which also owns Instagram, has repeatedly said it does not allow attacks on people based on protected characteristics such as race, religion, nationality, or sexual orientation.

A Facebook spokesperson said: "We don't want discriminatory abuse on Instagram or Facebook.

"We share the goal of tackling it and want to hold people who share it accountable. We do this by taking action on content and accounts that break our rules and cooperating with law enforcement when we receive a valid legal request.

"We also recently announced that we'll take tougher action when we become aware of people breaking our rules in DMs and we have built tools to help protect people, including the ability to never receive a DM from someone you don't follow.

"This work is ongoing and we are committed to doing more. We also know these problems are bigger than us, so are working with the industry, government and others to collectively drive societal change through action and education."

Twitter: No room for racist behaviour

In a blog post on their website which outlines their ongoing measures to combat online abuse, Twitter have said: "Alongside our partners in football, we condemn racism in all its forms.

"Racist behaviour, abuse and harassment have absolutely no place on our service.

"At Twitter, protecting the health of the public conversation is essential to us, and this means making sure Twitter is a safe place to express yourself and follow the conversation about football, without fear of abuse or intimidation."

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