Online Abuse Of Sports Professionals: Is A Change In Criminal Law Needed To Reduce Offending?

• Published date: 23 April 2021
• Subject Matter: Employment and HR, Media, Telecoms, IT, Entertainment, Criminal Law, Discrimination, Disability & Sexual Harassment, Sport, Social Media, Crime
• Law Firm: BCL Solicitors LLP
• Author: Mr Daniel Jackson

BCL Associate, Daniel Jackson, examines the recent surge in online abuse faced by sports professionals, most notably those in the world of football, and considers whether the only option is the closure of social media accounts.

The sad reality is that rarely a day goes by without a sports professional, often a footballer, suffering some form of online abuse.

Clubs, whose players are being subject to the abuse, frequently of a racial nature, are calling on the social media platforms to take action. Premier League managers have proposed a football-wide boycott of social media to fight against the persistent abuse and discrimination, with several other clubs staging week-long boycotts. An FA spokesperson recently said, 'We fully support any club or player that wishes to take a stand against any form of discrimination in a respectful manner, including the boycott of social media platforms.'

Former professional footballer, now turned coach, Thierry Henry, recently announced that he is walking away from various social media platforms until more is done to tackle the issue. The former Arsenal player claimed that those in power need to better regulate their platforms, referencing the 'vigour and ferocity' currently applied to the infringement of copyright.

Taking a slightly different approach, Liverpool captain, Jordan Henderson, has relinquished control of his social media accounts to the charity, Cybersmile, who describe racial hatred online as 'spiralling out of control'.

Obviously, such conduct is not limited to footballers in the English Premier League - every individual with a social media account is at risk of being abused by persons, both known and unknown to them.

But is it just the likes of Facebook, Twitter and Instagram that need to do more? In September 2020, the Law Commission launched a consultation paper on communication offences, with a view to reforming the criminal law in this area, so that there is clearer and more effective targeting of the harm and criminality behind online abuse.

Communication offences

If an individual sends threatening, abusive or offensive messages via a social media platform, they may commit an offence.

According to section 1 of the Malicious Communications Act 1988, it is an offence to send certain types of communication to another person that conveys a message which is indecent or grossly offensive, a threat, or false - where one of the sender's purposes is to cause 'distress or anxiety' to the recipient or another...