MX23RW : Tuesday, April 20 02:41:47| >> :120:18430:18430:

Sam Allardyce advocates united stance on social media boycott

Allardyce advocates united stance on social media boycott
© Reuters
The West Brom boss fears financial concerns amid the coronavirus pandemic could prevent that from happening.

Sam Allardyce has backed Swansea's boycott of social media and believes the fight against online abuse would benefit by the whole of English football following suit.

But Allardyce says he understands how the deep financial concerns of clubs amid the coronavirus pandemic could prevent that from happening.

Swansea have decided not to post any social media content for seven days, with the Sky Bet Championship club declaring "enough is enough" after months of players being targeted online.

Three Swansea players – Yan Dhanda, Ben Cabango and Jamal Lowe – have been among that number and the club's chief executive Julian Winter has written to Twitter and Facebook urging the introduction of tougher policing and punishments for those found guilty of sending online abuse.

Swansea's Championship rivals Birmingham joined them on Thursday evening, with the Blues saying they would not be posting across official channels for seven days.

West Brom boss Allardyce said: "I would like an accumulation of football clubs across the board to all do it together.

"That would for me be the only way that a difference may be made, if a united front was put up by all 92 professional clubs.

"But, of course, if that meant losing revenue over survival and, trying to help on these abusive messages, the money may override that unfortunately.

"There's a lot of people in a lot of trouble financially because of the pandemic. So if they don't go that way I can understand it."

Brighton's former Swansea manager Graham Potter congratulated his old club over their stance on social media.

"I support their decision because it's based on what they know about their club and what's the right thing to do for their players," Potter said.

"Congratulations to them for making a stand and deciding what is right for them. I certainly wouldn't be against it.

"We'll keep assessing the situation, see what we can do to affect it, because at the moment it doesn't feel like we've got the right environment."

Southampton v Brighton and Hove Albion – Premier League – St Mary's
Brighton manager Graham Potter congratulated his former club Swansea on their stance over social media (Glyn Kirk/PA)

Fulham manager Scott Parker and Southampton boss Ralph Hasenhuttl both supported Swansea's decision and urged social media companies to police platforms better.

Parker said of social media: "I don't want to engage in it. It gives people a platform to make stupid comments that I don't want to be around, listen to and hold no value to me whatsoever.

"Do I see more teams like Swansea making a stand? Yes for sure, because things are not getting stopped and you'll still get stupid people who think they can hide behind a computer screen and be very abusive.

"By making this stand these companies will act rather than talk about it."

Ralph Hasenhuttl File Photo
Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl says he is not a friend of social media (Peter Byrne/PA)

Hasenhuttl added: "I am not a friend of social media. It is an easy way to get a voice of blaming somebody and a very easy way of putting racist words out there.

"This is definitely something which this social media (companies) must control and finally stop it. It is definitely something which we have to take very seriously."

Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo, one of the few black managers in English professional football, said: "I think it's an individual decision of each and every one of us.

"Who decides they should boycott social media should do so. Others don't feel the need and it must be a freedom of decision.

"If the clubs decided as a unit, I support it. But I cannot speak about Wolves because we are not considering any kind of situation now."

ID:442342:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:collect9186:

Click here for more stories about Sam Allardyce

Click here for more stories about Swansea City

Collect / Create New Data
Share this article now:
Did you know...?
General view of Swansea City's Liberty Stadium taken January 2018
Read Next:
Swansea City to take stand against online abuse
>
Sports Mole Logo
Enter your email address to subscribe to Sports Mole's free daily transfer newsletter! Sent twice a day during the transfer window.

rhs 2.0
Todays Game Header Right
Premier League
Championship
Serie A
Bundesliga
Primeira Liga
Coupe de France
League One
League Two
National League
National League North
National League South
Scottish Championship
Scottish League One
Scottish League Two
Turkish Super Lig
NIFL Premiership
League of Ireland Premier
Welsh Premier League
2.Bundesliga
Ligue 2
Copa Libertadores
Copa Sudamericana
Liga MX
AFC Champions League
Chinese Super League playoffs
Women's Super League
Tables
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
2Watford422410859283182
3Swansea CitySwansea4222101052331976
4Brentford412014771403174
5Bournemouth4221111069412874
6Barnsley42218135446871
7Reading4219101357461167
8Cardiff CityCardiff4216121458461260
9Millwall421417114140159
10Queens Park RangersQPR421611155051-159
11Middlesbrough42169174947257
12Stoke CityStoke421414144546-156
13Luton TownLuton41168173646-1056
14Bristol City42156214156-1551
15Blackburn RoversBlackburn421311185448650
16Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest421213173441-749
17Preston North EndPreston42147214155-1449
18Coventry CityCoventry421212183956-1748
19Birmingham CityBirmingham421212183250-1848
20Huddersfield TownHuddersfield421211194562-1747
21Derby CountyDerby421110213148-1743
22Rotherham UnitedRotherham40116234154-1339
23Sheffield WednesdaySheff Weds42119223555-2036
24Wycombe WanderersWycombe42810243266-3434

Subscribe to our Newsletter


Transfer Talk Daily
Match previews - twice weekly
Morning Briefing (7am UTC)
Ultra close-up image of Kevin De Bruyne [NOT FOR USE IN ARTICLES]Get the latest transfer news, match previews and news direct to your inbox!