Facebook and Instagram have responded to a 24-hour social media boycott in protest at online racial abuse, which has been backed by Premier League and WSL stars.The Professional Footballers’ Association’s #Enough campaign urged players to stay off social media from 0900 on Friday morning.The PFA says #Enough is intended as a show of solidarity with players who have been targeted, as well as a demand to social media organisations and the game’s authorities that more needs to be done.

A spokesperson for Facebook said: “There is no place for racism or abusive behaviour on Facebook.

“We will remove hate speech or credible threats of any kind, and we encourage anyone who sees the content they find offensive to report it so we can remove anything that breaks our Community Standards.”

Facebook said it had developed a range of tools that allow users to moderate and filter content on their pages by hiding or deleting comments, blocking certain words, turning on a profanity filter and banning people.

“There is always more we can do and we are continuing to invest in technology and our team of 30,000 people working in safety and security so everyone has a safe and positive experience on Facebook,” the spokesperson said.