The One Show's Jermaine Jenas to host football racism documentary
The One Show's newest co-presenter Jermaine Jenas will tackle racism in football for a Channel 4 documentary.
The former midfielder for clubs including Tottenham and Newcastle is set to examine the ways racism has seeped into the online conversation around the sport in recent years.
This topic is especially timely given the racist abuse the England national team's Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka faced on social media after missing spot kicks in last weekend's Euro 2020 final at Wembley.
Channel 4's Football Trolls follows Jenas over a six-month period as he interviews Premier League footballers about the abuse they've received, as well as confronting those who've contributed to the online bile.
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"This film is incredibly important to me and something I've been working on for a while. There has been an ongoing conversation surrounding racism and football for as long as I can remember, and the reactions to the Euros has been heartbreaking," Jenas said.
"I've felt sick to my stomach reading the comments and chants and promise to make it my mission to help create positive change... Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and all the other social platforms out there, we have to hold these trolls accountable, we have to do better."
Louisa Compton, Channel 4's head of news, current affairs and sport, has called Football Trolls "timely, bold and much needed", as those involved in the sport and beyond reevaluate how to curb the problem.
This one-part, 60-minute documentary is set to air on Channel 4 later in the year, but no specific premiere date has been confirmed as of yet.
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