Jermaine Jenas to confront online football trolls in new Channel 4 documentary

Jermaine Jenas will confront football trolls as part of a new Channel 4 documentary focusing on online abuse.

Provisionally titled Football Trolls, the one-off hour long film will explore the hateful messages sent to players on social media.

Channel 4 share:”There have been growing calls for social media companies to address online trolling after nearly 2,000 discriminatory abusive tweets targeted Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Raheem Sterling in the 24 hours after the Euros final.

“For the last six months Jermaine Jenas has been tackling the issues head on, by confronting the people who hide behind their screens, interviewing Premier League footballers on the receiving end of the abuse and discussing his own personal experiences.”

Jermaine Jenas said: “This film is incredibly important to me and something I’ve been working on for a while. there has been an ongoing conversation surrounding racism and football for as long as I can remember, and the reactions to the Euros has been heart-breaking.

“I’ve felt sick to my stomach reading the comments and chants and promise to make it my mission to help create positive change… @instagram @twitter @facebook and all the other social platforms out there, we have to hold these trolls accountable, we have to do better.”

Louisa Compton, Head of News and Current Affairs and Sport for Channel 4, commented: “In this timely, bold and much needed film, Jermaine Jenas will tackle the issue head on by confronting the people hiding behind their Twitter profiles and trying to get answers from the tech giants themselves.

“This hard hitting investigation is another example of Channel 4 examining the big issues that affect the UK.”

An air date for the doc is to be announced.