England's Bukayo Saka asks social media to combat racist abuse

"To the social media platforms Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, I don't want any child or adult to have to receive the hateful and hurtful messages that me, Marcus and Jadon have received this week," Saka wrote, as noted by Reuters, via ESPN.

"I knew instantly the kind of hate that I was about to receive and that is a sad reality that your powerful platforms are not doing enough to stop these messages." 

United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson pledged to meet with Facebook and Twitter earlier this week to discuss racist messages sent via those services, and at least four individuals have been arrested on accusations of racially abusing players. 

Reuters also reported Thursday that Facebook is involved in discussions with UK law enforcement officials to support ongoing and future investigations into accounts linked with racist messages. Guilty parties could ultimately be permanently banned from attending football matches throughout England.