Premier League clubs are considering a blanket social media boycott for a round of fixtures before the end of the season.
A growing number of sides want to send out a powerful message that racism will not be tolerated - after the torrent of abuse suffered by players in recent months.
They believe that a synchronised approach, which would see each club swerve the likes of Twitter and Instagram during a matchday weekend, would be not only symbolic but would show a united front and ramp up pressure on social media firms.
It is understood the idea of a boycott from this Friday at 5pm through to 9am on Monday has been floated among clubs.
Though this was considered unlikely to gain enough traction with this weekend’s FA Cup semi-finals meaning a number of clubs are not in action.
As revealed by Sportsmail last week, English football’s key stakeholders were locked in talks on Monday over the possibility of what would be an unprecedented joint blackout.
Swansea became the first club to ditch social media last week with a self-imposed ban lasting seven days. North of the border, Rangers did likewise.
The situation, however, is complex. Many clubs have commercial agreements with firms that include promotion on their social media channels.
Indeed, the use of social media is now a key asset for many when they negotiate deals, especially for those within the big six.
Despite that, there is a belief that such hurdles can be overcome given the potentially-damaging optics that would no doubt follow should companies object to the proposal.
Indeed, there is growing hope that the Premier League, who even up until last week have maintained they would prefer to resolve the problems that overshadowed the season through dialogue with social media companies, are changing their view.
The feeling among top flight clubs is that they must move collectively and avoid a situation where an individual team would call their own blackout.
‘What we don’t want is a situation where some clubs have their own boycott while others do not,’ a source at one Premier League club explained.
‘This is very much all or nothing. If every club decided to do a blanket ban at the same time - and if that was around the same round of fixtures - it would have the maximum possible impact.’
The Premier League are under mounting pressure to take matters into their own hands following a season of abhorrent abuse directed at a number of players.
Tottenham star Heung-min Son and Raheem Sterling are the latest high profile players to be targeted for abuse through their own social media channels.
Additional reporting by Adrian Kajumba.
Source: m.allfootballapp.com