Boris Johnson has announced a football ban for racist online trolls. The Prime Minister's decision comes after an online petition - titled "Ban racists for life from all football matches in England" -garnered way over a million signatures. "You will not be going to the match – no ifs no buts," Johnson told abusive supporters in the House of Commons, per <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/boris-johnson-football-racism-online-ban-b1883888.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Independent</a>. Johnson said the government is "today taking practical steps to ensure that the Football Banning Order regime is changed, so that if you are guilty of racist abuse online of footballers, then you will not be going to the match. No ifs, no buts. No exemptions and no excuses." [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/PopCrave/status/1415271893167443969]]  The Bill is set to hit tech companies failing to remove illegal and harmful content from their platforms with fines worth up to 10% of their annual global turnover. However, it's currently unclear when the legislation will finally come into force. Johnson met with representatives from Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram in Number 10 on Tuesday, July 13. The PM said he "made it absolutely clear to them that we will legislate to address this problem in the Online Harms Bill", warning: "Unless they get hate and racism off their platforms they will face fines amounting to 10% of their global revenues." This comes after England players were subject to <a href="https://vt.co/news/celebs-and-politicians-speak-out-as-england-stars-are-hit-with-racist-abuse-following-euros-defeat">widely condemned racist abuse</a> after the team lost their first major final since 1966 through penalty shootouts against Italy. Players Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka, and Jadon Sancho were mostly subject to the abuse - but have received an outpouring of support from high-profile names like captain Harry Kane, who condemned the vile comments. <img class="wp-image-1263117602 size-full" src="https://img.vt.co/2021/07/Football-2.jpg" alt="England players in the Euro 2020 tournament." width="600" height="760" />[[imagecaption|| Credit: Alamy / Sportimage]] Currently, football banning orders do not cover offenses that take place online. Speaking about the England team, Johnson went on: "I support them in the way that they show solidarity with their friends who face racism. "The home secretary has faced racism and prejudice all her career of a kind that he can never imagine, and she has taken practical steps to get black and minority officers into the police in record numbers." Kane <a href="https://twitter.com/HKane/status/1414639048031805441">wrote</a> of the abuse they have received: "Three lads who were brilliant all summer had the courage to step up and take a pen when the stakes were high. They deserve support and backing not the vile racist abuse they've had since last night. "If you abuse anyone on social media you're not an England fan and we don't want you." Others have signed the petition - titled "Ban racists for life from all football matches in England" - to show their support, and it has since garnered over 1,026,000 signatures since its creation on July 12. [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/SkyNews/status/1415266792373694467]]  [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/Haggis_UK/status/1415270684473888768]]  The <a href="https://www.change.org/p/football-association-and-oliver-dowden-sec-of-state-dcms-pm-boris-johnson-ban-racists-for-life-from-all-football-matches-in-england" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">petition</a> reads: "After [Sunday's] match, vile racist abuse was directed at our heroic players Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka, and Jadon Sancho. "Minutes after the final whistle of the Euro final, The Football Association issued a statement which said: 'We could not be clearer that anyone behind such disgusting behavior is not welcome in following the team. We will do all we can to support the players affected while urging the toughest punishments possible for anyone responsible'. "As multi-racial football fans, we finally feel represented by this anti-racist and inclusive England team. We could not be more proud or inspired by our magnificent team and by their talent, bravery, leadership, and love for all. Gareth Southgate’s England team plays for ALL of us." "Our England team stood up for all of us - now we must stand up for them," it concludes. <h6>Featured image credit: PA Images / Alamy</h6>

Boris Johnson announces football ban for online racist trolls

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