PREMIER LEAGUE
No Room for Racism: The Premier League reacts to online abuse
A host of players, including Manchester United trio Axel Tuanzebe, Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial, Chelsea's Reece James, West Bromwich Albion's Romaine Sawyers and Southampton's Alex Jankewitz have been victims of online abuse in recent weeks.
The Premier League has set in motion an action plan to eradicate racial prejudice and create more opportunities for minority ethnic groups in soccer.
It builds on the existing actions taken by the Premier League and clubs to promote equality, diversity and inclusion.
"Football is a diverse sport... This diversity has made the game stronger on the pitch and it is vital we ensure this is reflected across all areas of the game," Premier League Chief Executive Richard Masters said.
The initiative comes at a time when the likes of Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial, Chelsea's Reece James, West Bromwich Albion's Romaine Sawyers and Southampton's Alex Jankewitz have also been victims of online racist abuse in recent weeks.
The Football Association on Sunday called for the British government and social media companies to act quickly in the fight against online racist abuse.
"We will continue to do everything we can to stamp discrimination out of the game, but we implore government to act quickly and bring in the appropriate legislation so this abuse has real-life consequences," the governing body said.
"Social media companies need to step up and take accountability and action to ban abusers from their platforms, gather evidence that can lead to prosecution and support making their platforms free from this type of abhorrent abuse."