THE AIM of the blackout is to condemn online hate aimed at footballers.
Shamrock Rovers has announced that it is joining a number of European clubs in its boycott of social media this weekend.
A number of clubs in England announced they will suspend all use of their social media accounts from 3pm on Friday April 30 until 11.59pm on Monday May 3.
UEFA also recently confirmed that it will join a coalition of English footballing stakeholders by staying silent across its social media platforms this weekend.
The aim of the boycott is to show solidarity in the fight against online abuse.
In a short statement released on Friday morning, the club said: "Shamrock Rovers F.C. will join with the ECA (European Club Association) social media boycott from 15:00 on Friday 30 April to 23:59 on Monday 3 May, in support of their campaign against the ongoing and sustained discriminatory abuse received online by players and many others connected to football.
"The boycott has been arranged by The FA, Premier League, EFL, PFA, LMA, PGMOL, Kick It Out, Women in Football and the FSA, who are uniting to encourage government and social media companies to take action to eradicate online hate.
"Alongside these bodies, and others in the football community, we will not publish any content across our social media channels during this weekend, to stand in solidarity with this cause."
The FAI has since announced that it is also supporting the boycott:
The FAI is to support football’s social media boycott this weekend by switching off the FAI’s Twitter, Facebook and Instagram channels from midnight on Friday to midnight on Sunday.
More here ➡️https://t.co/c6QEAlN9ik#StopOnlineAbuse pic.twitter.com/JX7DK3P1v7— FAIreland ⚽️🇮🇪 (@FAIreland) April 30, 2021
Former Ireland striker Clinton Morrison recently called on football clubs and those with power to attack racism with the "same energy" that the Super League was gotten rid of with.
Thierry Henry recently deleted all of his social media accounts, saying "it's only the start" of football's fight against racism.
