- England landed in Germany on Monday ahead of their Euro 2024 campaign.
- The Three Lions will face Serbia in their first match on Sunday.
- Click here Follow Mail Sport’s Euro 2024 WhatsApp channel for the latest news and updates from Germany
England players will turn a blind eye to their social media accounts during Euro 2024 to avoid distractions during the tournament amid the ongoing issue of online abuse directed at footballers.
The Football Association has not provided the team with 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 Euros.
Southgate has empowered his players to make their own decisions 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 stage.
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 landed in Germany on Monday and will begin their Euro 2024 campaign on Sunday against Serbia
In May, police are understood to have assured England players that strong action would be taken against people sending racially abusive messages during Euro 2024.
It is understood that a delegation of representatives made a presentation to Southgate and his team of players at St George’s Park, where the team was informed of the options and preventive measures they could implement to block and censor abusive messages online.
A FIFA report revealed in 2023 that England’s World Cup quarter-final loss to France in 2022 led to one of the biggest spikes in online abuse in the tournament.
The report states that 38 per cent of the abuse came from accounts in Europe, while more than 300 people who made comments deemed abusive or discriminatory were referred to jurisdictional authorities.
Players at the tournament had also been offered moderation software that concealed offensive or abusive comments as part of FIFA’s Social Media Protection Service (SMPS), a body set up by the organization to protect players from abuse. online.
England players were also the subject of 12,500 abusive messages during Euro 2020, despite reaching the final of the tournament, while Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka were the subject of racially abusive messages after missing penalties during the final. against Italy.
Rashford is one of several stars who also received abusive messages during the 2023-24 campaign, with the Man United star delivering a worrying update in April after “months” of abuse.
England’s Euro 2024 stars also received a special briefing on social media use ahead of the tournament.
They received special advice on how to censor and block abusive messages online and on social media.
Bukayo Saka (front) hugs Gareth Southgate (back) after missing a penalty during the Euro 2020 final. The England star was subsequently insulted online after the match.
The 26-year-old responded to a fan on X (formerly Twitter) who claimed the abuse the Man United star had received was “disgusting”. Rashford responded: ‘I appreciate his support! He is abusive and has been for months. Enough is enough.’
The striker, who was excluded from Gareth Southgate’s squad for Euro 2024, once again attacked his detractors in an article that was later published in The Player’s Tribune. He claimed questions about his commitment to Man United were unwarranted.