CAFE is proud to stand in solidarity with friends, partners and stakeholders who fall silent on social media in a stand against online abuse and hate.

From 1600 CEST (1500 BST) on Friday 30 April until midnight on Monday 3 May, there will be no postings on any of our official social media channels.

The social media boycott aims to unite those working within the sporting sector in the fight against online abuse and hate.

Our partners UEFA have also announced that they will participate in the social media boycott, with UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin outlining his opposition to all forms of discrimination and abuse. He said, “Allowing a culture of hatred to grow with impunity is dangerous, very dangerous, not only for football, but for society as a whole. This is why we are supporting this initiative. It is time for football to take a stand and I have been impressed with the solidarity shown by the players, clubs and stakeholders”.

“I urge everyone – players, clubs and national associations – to lodge formal complaints whenever players, coaches, referees or officials are victims of unacceptable tweets or messages. We’ve had enough of these cowards who hide behind their anonymity to spew out their noxious ideologies”, added Čeferin.

CAFE Managing Director Joanna Deagle said, “There is no place within sport for racism, disability hate, sexism, homophobia, transphobia or discrimination in any form. CAFE has witnessed a growing number of disability hate incidents in recent times, both online and within the wider society. It is not acceptable, and it must be stopped. Enough is enough”.

Disability hate incidents can occur in a number of ways, including disability slurs at players or fans, mocking disabled people, or the use of offensive, insulting and derogatory language.

CAFE is committed to removing the barriers that disabled people face within sport. We are working with partners across the industry to educate on the impact that stereotypes, discrimination and flagrant abuse can have on disabled people, and why this must be eradicated from our game.

We are in the process of developing the first dedicated system for reporting disability hate and abuse, and we continue to oppose all forms of discrimination.

To find out more about disability hate crime and incidents, and how future cases can be prevented, a CAFE webinar is available to watch on-demand below and via YouTube.

Published 30/4/2021