Mourinho: Spurs want to make impact in fight vs online abuse of players
FILE – Tottenham Hotspur’s Portuguese head coach Jose Mourinho gestures from the sidelines during the UEFA Europa League qualifying round football match between Tottenham Hotspur and Maccabi Haifa at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, on October 1, 2020. (Photo by Clive Rose / POOL / AFP)
Tottenham Hotspur wants to make an impact on the fight against online racist abuse after defender Davinson Sanchez was targeted last week, and may join other teams in a boycott of social media, manager Jose Mourinho said.
Scottish champions Rangers and English second-tier side Swansea City said on Tuesday they will boycott social media for a week after several players from both teams were racially abused.
Sanchez was also targeted on Instagram following their 2-2 draw at Newcastle United on Sunday.
“The club is thinking, analyzing every detail and the club of course wants to make an impact,” Mourinho told reporters before Sunday’s Premier League game at home to Manchester United.
“The decision that the club will make will be a decision that we will accept and support. It is an internal discussion about a sad situation.
“In relation to Davinson, there is nothing more to add about the sadness of the situation, but I would just say that he found a lot of love internally because he’s a lovely guy and everybody supported him and he’s fine.”
Several Premier League players like United’s Axel Tuanzebe, Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial along with Arsenal’s Willian and Eddie Nketiah have been targeted online in recent months.
Under pressure from English football organizations, Instagram has announced new measures, while Twitter vowed to continue its efforts after taking action on more than 700 cases of abuse related to football in Britain in 2019.
Former Arsenal and France striker Thierry Henry deleted his social media accounts last month to protest against platforms not taking action against anonymous account holders for racism and bullying.
