LONDON, Jan. 26 (Xinhua) -- British government ministers told football players on Tuesday of planned changes in the law to tackle online harm and abuse in sport.

A new bill, due to come before parliament in 2021, will force tech firms to take action so that what is unacceptable in the street and in football stadiums will also become unacceptable online.

Details of the proposals were given a curtain raiser by culture secretary Oliver Dowden and sports minister Nigel Huddleston during a roundtable discussion on future of football in Britain.

Taking part in the discussion were current and former players from the English Premier League, English Football League, Women's Super League and Women's Championship.

Players who shared their views included Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson and team mate Rinsola Babajide, Aston Villa's Tyrone Mings and Watford's Troy Deeney, alongside former players including Karen Carney and Anton Ferdinand.

The politicians said the aim was to get the players' perspective on tackling discrimination and abuse in the sport, as part of a series of discussions on the "Future of Football".

"Many of those joining the call shared their powerful experiences of the abuse they or their fellow footballers have faced, and the action they would like to see to tackle this problem. The meeting was called by ministers ahead of them introducing new laws to hold social media companies to account for online harms, and a fan-led review of football governance," said a spokesperson for the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).

Ministers listened to players talk about their direct experiences of discrimination in games, and the challenges in reporting and getting help with this, added DCMS.

The British government is taking soundings from a variety of figures in football, prior to formally launching a fan-led governance review which will shape reform of the national game.

Dowden said: "To hear players talk about the level of abuse they have faced was humbling. Their input today has strengthened my resolve to bring in new laws to ensure there is much greater accountability from the social media platforms for dealing with such problems."

Henderson said: "The meeting was very important and I'm pleased that those with power and authority to enact change realise the seriousness of the abuse towards players."

Mings said: "I was pleased that the Secretary of State wanted to engage with, and listen to, the thoughts of us as players and ex-players. Hopefully this adds context when he attempts to deliver change on behalf of us." Enditem

Related

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)