Fight Against Football Racism: Mikel, Iwobi, others join social media boycott campaign

Michael Arroyo and Antonio Valencia hold a say no to racism sign - Getty

Nigeria stars joined footballers across England to boycott social media for 24 hours in a stand against racism.


Nigeria internationals Mikel Obi, Jude Ighalo, Wilfred Ndidi, Alex Iwobi, Kelechi Iheanacho, Kenneth Omeruo and Semi Ajayi are among those who have joined the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) campaign to abstain from Twitter, Facebook and Instagram from 9 a.m. Friday until 9 a.m. Saturday (today) in an effort to put pressure on social media platforms and footballing organisations to crack down on racist abuse.

“We are making a stand against racist abuse,” the post reads.

"We recognise that our platforms come with responsibility, and so we are using our voice to stand against racist abuse.

“Together, we are calling on social media platforms and footballing bodies to do more!”

Current players including Marcus Rashford, Jesse Lingard, Georginio Wijnaldum, Wes Morgan and star names not currently playing in England such as David Beckham, Wayne Rooney and Gareth Bale as well as a number of clubs such as Watford, Crystal Palace and Burnley also posted their support to the cause.

Watford captain Troy Deeney was targeted with racial insults on Instagram.