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LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 22:  A general view of an empty Twickenham stadium following the RBS Six Nations match between England and Ireland at Twickenham Stadium on February 22, 2014 in London, England.  (Photo by David Rogers - RFU/The RFU Collection via Getty Imagesges)

RFU

29 Apr 2021 | 2 min |

England Rugby to join social media blackout

England Rugby will join the football community and other sports taking part in a social media blackout from 15:00 BST on Friday 30 April to 23:59 BST on Monday 3 May in a show of solidarity against online abuse. 

This will cover all RFU-run social media channels including England Rugby, Allianz Premier 15s, Greene King IPA Championship and GB7s.

Clubs competing in the Allianz Premier 15s and the Greene King IPA Championship will also join the blackout.

The Red Roses take on France in Lille on Friday evening (kick-off 8pm BST), live on BBC iPlayer with coverage on englandrugby.com

Red Roses captain Sarah Hunter said: “No professional sportsperson should have to suffer abuse, racism or harassment on social media.

“We’ve all seen how social media can help bring fans and players closer together but this does not mean abuse should be ignored.

“While we have an important Test match in France on Friday, we understand there are bigger and more important issues and hopefully this is an important statement that online hate will not be tolerated.”