West Ham and England midfielder Rice says he does not have a problem with social media; he jokes he “became a meme again” after Harry Kane left him hanging with a high-five in goal celebrations against Albania
England players have no plans to boycott social media for the Euros but may need to discuss it in the future, says Declan Rice.
Manager Gareth Southgate backed Thierry Henry’s decision to quit social media over the lack of action taken against racist abuse and bullying behaviour, and asked his players to consider doing the same.
Southgate made “a conscious decision to come off social media” when he became England U21 boss in 2013 because “I didn’t want to be reading the sorts of messages that I knew would be landing in my box”.
Rice regularly interacts with his followers on Twitter and Instagram but various other key figures in the sport are coming off social media due to a lack of action when it comes to racism on the platform.
“Something definitely has to be done,” said Rice. “There has been way too much in the last year especially with social media abuse.
“For someone like me who runs my own account and has that interaction and love with the fans, I don’t have any problem with it.
“It is important that a player like me can have interaction with West Ham or England fans.
“Thierry Henry has boycotted it. I’ve seen Gareth Bale come out and say something. It may be a decision that is spoken about in the future between the players, at the moment there is not.”
Rice: I’ve been turned into a meme again
Rice said he and his England team-mates were laughing when he became the unwitting subject of a viral social media clip following their win over Albania.
The video showed him being ignored while holding out for a high-five from his team-mates, who were celebrating Harry Kane’s opening goal.
It was the second time Rice has unintentionally become a trending topic, after a clip of Mason Mount scaring him had been widely shared earlier in his career.
“Yeah (there has been banter in the camp about it),” Rice said. “When we were on the plane about to leave Albania, Harry Kane did not realise what had happened and he saw the video. He said ‘Dec, sorry mate!’.
“I turned around and we had a bit of a laugh. I said to the boss before, I’ve been turned into a meme again. I obviously had the one with Mason scaring me. Now I have been left hanging! I need to improve on that front.”
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