Reactions to the social-media boycott show the players’ union still has much to do to win over sceptics and persuade Twitter et al to act
It wasn’t easy at first to know what to make of the Professional Footballers’ Association’s #enough campaign. It was difficult to be sure if it was genuinely the work of its equalities team or an idea dreamt up by a PR agency. A suspicious mind might have wondered whether the relevant people needed some positive publicity after all that unfortunate business with Gordon Taylor and, even if you were willing to give them the benefit of the doubt, I couldn’t help but feel they were pushing their luck to think a 24-hour boycott of social media, a hashtag and a new buzzword would make a lasting difference.
More than anything, it all felt, well, a bit tame. This was the first time ever in England and Wales that the people who play the sport professionally had been invited to protest, as one, about the racism many of them have to endure. It needed something impactful. Yet, somehow, I am not sure this was it. Unless I am being unfair to assume the general response at Uefa and Fifa headquarters could probably be summed up, in modern parlance, with the shrugged-shoulder emoji. And, regrettably, I don’t think I am.
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