Last updated on .From the section Football

A number of players boycotted social media for 24 hours in protest at racist abuse

Players have been asked to send evidence of racist online abuse to the Professional Footballers' Association to demonstrate to governing bodies the severity of the issue.

The players' union will show the posts to the sports minister and a number of football bodies at a meeting in May.

Meetings with Twitter and Facebook have also been requested after a number of recent high-profile incidents.

Players were previously encouraged to boycott social media for 24 hours.

A PFA statement said on Thursday it was asking members to send any abuse they had received to an email address that has been set up.

The messages will be presented to leading figures in football, including the Football Association, anti-discrimination charity Kick It Out and Sports Minister Mims Davies, at the meeting at Wembley.

It follows the #Enough campaign, where players were encouraged to post a graphic containing the word 'Enough' on their social media platforms before boycotting it for 24 hours.

Tottenham and England midfielder Dele Alli, Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford and Arsenal striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang were among a number of players who took part.

Head of equalities Simone Pound said it was important to follow the boycott with "empowered action".

Incidents of racist abuse in 2018-19