AI software to be used to protect footballers from online abuse after Rashford’s case
Online abuse directed at players has become one of football’s biggest problems in recent years. A teenager was jailed for six weeks last month for sending a racist tweet to Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford after England lost the Euro 2020 final.
The automated machine-learning technology is created by a British company named GoBubble and will monitor the social media accounts of players to block harmful messages, images and emojis. If successful, the software could be implemented elsewhere.
The news comes after Josh Cavallo – the only openly gay man currently playing professional top-flight football – received homophobic abuse in January. The 22-year-old plays for A-League outfit Adelaide United and has represented Australia at U20 level.
Last year, a report from the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) found that 44 per cent of Premier League footballers have received discriminatory abuse on Twitter and 50 per cent of abusive tweets come from UK-based accounts
