Dear Prime Minister, Mr Musk and Mr Zuckerberg!: The Challenge of Social Media and Platformed Racism in the English Premier League and Football League

This paper draws on original research from a larger study of racism and Islamophobia online around football, particularly a set of interviews with staff at English football clubs whose responsibility it is to manage social media. We use that information alongside our reflections on ‘platformed racism’ (Matamoros-Fernandez 2017) to appraise how expressions of racism on social media differ from those in and around the grounds, and how clubs and others in football contest them. This involves a consideration of three themes commonly identified by those speaking on behalf of the clubs: the triggers that ignite racist posts; the partnerships necessary to counter them; and their proposed solutions. Hence this is not just a cue for a collective wringing of hands, but an effort to point the way forward.