England players will avoid using social media during Euro 2024 - and some are set to deactivate their accounts - to avoid distractions amid ongoing torrent of online abuse being aimed at footballers

England players will turn a blind eye to their social media accounts during Euro 2024 to avoid distractions during the tournament amid the ongoing issue of online abuse directed at footballers.

The Football Association have not provided the squad with official guidance over how to approach their social accounts during whilst in Germany, but some players have already chosen to leave their pages inactive during the Euros.

Southgate has empowered his players to make their own choices and will stand in his team’s way if they want to engage on socials.

It emerged that England players were sent 1,546 abusive tweets during the group stages of World Cup.

Harry Kane and Declan Rice are among the players who have taken themselves off social media during tournaments.

In May, it is understood that England players were given assurances by police that there would be a crackdown on individuals sending racially abusive messages during Euro 2024.

It is understood a delegation of representatives had delivered a presentation to Southgate and his team of players at St George's Park, where the team was made aware of options and preventative measures they could deploy to block and censor abusive messages online.

A report from FIFA revealed in 2023 that England's World Cup quarter-final defeat by France in 2022 caused one of the biggest spikes in online abuse at the tournament.

The report claims that 38 per cent of the abuse came from accounts in Europe while over 300 people who made comments that were deemed abusive or discriminatory had been referred to jurisdictional authorities.

Players at the tournament had also been offered moderation software that hid offensive or abusive comments as part of FIFA's Social Media Protection Service (SMPS) - a body set up by the organisation to safeguard players from online abuse.

England players were also targeted with 12,500 abusive messages during Euro 2020, despite reaching the final of the tournament, while Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka were all targeted with racially abusive messages after missing penalties during the final against Italy.

Rashford is one of several stars who has also received abusive messages during the 2023-24 campaign, with the Man United star delivering a worrying update in April following 'months' of abuse.

The 26-year-old had responded to a fan on X (formerly Twitter) who claimed the abuse the Man United star had been getting was 'disgusting'. Rashford replied: 'I appreciate your support! It is abuse and has been for months. Enough is enough.'

The striker, who was omitted from Gareth Southgate's Euro 2024 squad, again hit back at his detractors in an article that was subsequently published in The Player's Tribune. He stated that questions over his commitment to Man United were unwarranted.