Twitter is to monitor closely the accounts of about 50 leading black players this season as part of a new effort to tackle racist abuse on social media.

The 24-hour boycott of social media platforms by players last season led to representatives of Twitter, Instagram and Facebook meeting the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) for talks on the issue.

As as result, Twitter has changed its policy. Whereas it would only review racist and abusive tweets if they were reported, it is now committed to a more proactive approach. Sources say that as part of the new strategy Twitter will have staff keeping a close watch on posts to about 50 of the most high-profile black players.

The monitoring system will aim to react more promptly