Why EPL stars are reluctant to report racial abuse

 

Premier League stars are ignoring advice to report online racial abuse amid fears of provoking further attacks.

Sportsmail revealed last week that clubs have told all victims to inform the police of incidents as part of a zero-tolerance approach.

But several players, three known to Sportsmail, have been unwilling to do so, leading to concerns that offences will go unpunished. Two of the three have been abused by the same account.

On Monday, the Metropolitan Police confirmed the arrest of a 21-year-old following hateful messages posted over a number of months, while a 49-year-old was arrested last month in connection with the online attacks on West Bromwich Albion’s Romaine Sawyers.

But while a number of players have told police about the offensive messages they received, many more have not over fears of more attacks.

One well-placed source said: ‘Some players have been deeply affected by the abuse they have received and just want to forget about it and don’t want to do anything which would see them receive more abuse.

‘Some are going down the police route but many aren’t because they don’t want the hassle or anything to take their focus off football.’

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The issue has put social media companies under huge pressure to make their platforms safer.

Meanwhile, the Premier League are to introduce quotas to raise the levels of women and BAME groups among their staff.

By 2031, as part of the No Room For Racism Action Plan, they are aiming for 50 per cent to be women and 30 per cent from BAME backgrounds.

The plans also commit the Premier League to having two female and one BAME board member by 2026.