- England touched down in Germany on Monday ahead of their Euro 2024 campaign
- The Three Lions will take on Serbia on Sunday
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England players will turn a blind eye to their social media accounts during Euro 2024 to avoid distractions during the tournament, amid the ongoing problem of online abuse targeting footballers.
The Football Association has not given the team any official guidance on how to access their social accounts during their time in Germany, but some players have already chosen to leave their pages inactive during the European Championship.
Southgate has given his players the opportunity to make their own choices and will stand in his team’s way if they want to engage on social media.
It emerged that England players received 1,546 abusive tweets during the World Cup group stages.
Harry Kane and Declan Rice are among the players who have removed themselves from social media during tournaments.
England players will deactivate their social media accounts during their Euro 2024 campaign
The Three Lions touched down in Germany on Monday and will start their Euro 2024 campaign against Serbia on Sunday
In May, it emerged that England players were assured by police that a crackdown would be launched against those who sent racially offensive messages during Euro 2024.
It is understood that a delegation of representatives gave a presentation to Southgate and his team of players at St George’s Park, where the team were briefed on the options and preventative measures they could take to block and prevent abusive messages online censor.
A 2023 FIFA report found that England’s 2022 World Cup quarter-final defeat to France caused one of the biggest spikes in online abuse during the tournament.
The report claims that 38 percent of the abuse came from accounts in Europe, while more than 300 people who made comments deemed offensive or discriminatory had been referred to the relevant authorities.
Players at the tournament had also been given moderation software that hid offensive or insulting comments as part of FIFA’s Social Media Protection Service (SMPS) – a body set up by the organization to protect players from online abuse.
England players were also targeted with 12,500 abusive messages during Euro 2020 despite reaching the final of the tournament, while Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka were all targeted with racially abusive messages after missing penalties during the final against Italy.
Rashford is one of several stars who have also received abusive messages during the 2023-2024 season, with the Man United star giving a worrying update in April after ‘months’ of abuse.
England’s Euro 2024 stars had also received a special briefing on the use of social media ahead of the tournament
They were given special advice on how to censor and block offensive messages online and on social media
Bukayo Saka (front) hugs Gareth Southgate (back) after missing a penalty during the 2020 Euro Finals. The England star was then insulted online after the match
The 26-year-old had responded to a fan on X (formerly Twitter) who claimed the abuse the Man United star had received was ‘disgusting’. Rashford replied: ‘I appreciate your support! It’s abuse and has been for months. Enough is enough.’
The striker, who was left out of Gareth Southgate’s squad for Euro 2024, hit back at his opponents in an article subsequently published in The Player’s Tribune. He stated that questions about his commitment to Man United were not justified.