Jermaine Jenas to front new documentary about social media, racism and football
The former footballer will speak to current players and reflect on his own experiences.
Channel 4 has commissioned a new documentary exploring social media, racism and football which will be presented by Jermaine Jenas.
The announcement came after England players Jadon Sancho, Bukayo Saka and Marcus Rashford were targeted with racist abuse following their Euro 2020 final defeat to Italy.
For the last six months former footballer Jenas has been interviewing Premier League players who have been on the receiving end of racist online abuse, Channel 4 said in a statement.
The documentary, titled Football Trolls, will also see him discuss his own experiences of social media abuse.
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 reaction to the Euros has been heartbreaking.
“I’ve felt sick to my stomach reading the comments and chants and promise to make it my mission to help create positive change.”
He added that social media platforms “have to hold these trolls accountable, we have to do better”.
Louisa Compton, head of news, current affairs and sport at Channel 4, said: “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.”
