Football clubs sign deal to curb online abuse

Australia’s Football League and player’s union will begin a using new artificial intelligence software to stop harmful comments online

Players in the A League will not be able to see racist, homophobic, sexist and other comments posted by users.

The social media crackdown is believed to be a world-first in the sporting world.

The automated technology was created by British company ‘GoBubble’, and will monitor the social media accounts of every A League Men and Women’s player.

It is likely to catch offensive content including words, images and emojis. The content will be identified and blocked to the player and their followers.

While it will still be visible to the sender’s followers, the objective is to strip trolls of their intended audience and decrease the post’s overall reach.

It follows English footballers uniting for a four-day social media boycott to curb abuse and racism, last year.

The announcement follows a successful trial in the A League where Twitter profiles of Adelaide United, Melbourne Victory and Central Coast Mariners players were targeted during the league’s recent ‘Pride Game’.