Might as well shut the site down now:
Football fans who abuse players or fellow supporters online have been warned they could face prosecution, as lawyers and police unveiled a new policy for tackling hooliganism.
Lawyer Nick Hawkins said criminal abuse inside as well as outside sports grounds would be dealt with in the run-up to England's World Cup qualifiers in the autumn.
"It's not just criminality in the stands that will be taken on," he said.
"Our legal guidance on communications sent by social media clearly sets out how we will approach the abuse of players or fellow supporters online, and I'm glad to say we have the full support of the Football Association and the Professional Footballers' Association in this field."
Guidance issued by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) earlier this year said that communications that included threats of violence or damage to property, that specifically targeted individuals, or that may breach a court order should be "prosecuted robustly" if there was enough evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction.
Others that were "grossly offensive, indecent, obscene or false" may not reach the criminal threshold.
The new guidance comes after a series of high-profile cases involving Twitter, including threats made against the feminist campaigner Caroline Criado-Perez, the MP Stella Creasy and several female journalists.
Issued by the CPS and the Association of Chief Police Officers, it also deals specifically with homophobia.
"As well as tackling violence, disorder and criminal damage, we will deal robustly with offences of racist and homophobic and discriminatory chanting and abuse and other types of hate crime."
Alice Ashworth from the charity Stonewall said gay fans were put off going to matches because of homophobic chanting.
"We welcome the fact that the new policy on football-related offences addresses homophobic chanting for the first time," she said.
"Stonewall research shows that anti-gay abuse continues to be all too common in football and deters gay fans, as well as many families, from attending matches.
"Most football fans agree that homophobic abuse has no place in the game and the overwhelming majority support the police charging fans for homophobic chanting in the most serious cases."
Football banning orders bar fans from travelling to matches for a minimum of three years.
Hawkins said pitch invasions and the use of flares or fireworks could also result in prosecution.
"We stand ready to tackle emerging challenges such as pitch invasions and the use of pyrotechnics," he said.
"It is illegal to enter or attempt to enter a stadium in possession of a flare or firework and these offences have and will be prosecuted.
"The same goes for pitch invasions involving assaults on players. It is not behaviour that will be tolerated."
Football fans who abuse players or fellow supporters online have been warned they could face prosecution, as lawyers and police unveiled a new policy for tackling hooliganism.
Lawyer Nick Hawkins said criminal abuse inside as well as outside sports grounds would be dealt with in the run-up to England's World Cup qualifiers in the autumn.
"It's not just criminality in the stands that will be taken on," he said.
"Our legal guidance on communications sent by social media clearly sets out how we will approach the abuse of players or fellow supporters online, and I'm glad to say we have the full support of the Football Association and the Professional Footballers' Association in this field."
Guidance issued by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) earlier this year said that communications that included threats of violence or damage to property, that specifically targeted individuals, or that may breach a court order should be "prosecuted robustly" if there was enough evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction.
Others that were "grossly offensive, indecent, obscene or false" may not reach the criminal threshold.
The new guidance comes after a series of high-profile cases involving Twitter, including threats made against the feminist campaigner Caroline Criado-Perez, the MP Stella Creasy and several female journalists.
Issued by the CPS and the Association of Chief Police Officers, it also deals specifically with homophobia.
"As well as tackling violence, disorder and criminal damage, we will deal robustly with offences of racist and homophobic and discriminatory chanting and abuse and other types of hate crime."
Alice Ashworth from the charity Stonewall said gay fans were put off going to matches because of homophobic chanting.
"We welcome the fact that the new policy on football-related offences addresses homophobic chanting for the first time," she said.
"Stonewall research shows that anti-gay abuse continues to be all too common in football and deters gay fans, as well as many families, from attending matches.
"Most football fans agree that homophobic abuse has no place in the game and the overwhelming majority support the police charging fans for homophobic chanting in the most serious cases."
Football banning orders bar fans from travelling to matches for a minimum of three years.
Hawkins said pitch invasions and the use of flares or fireworks could also result in prosecution.
"We stand ready to tackle emerging challenges such as pitch invasions and the use of pyrotechnics," he said.
"It is illegal to enter or attempt to enter a stadium in possession of a flare or firework and these offences have and will be prosecuted.
"The same goes for pitch invasions involving assaults on players. It is not behaviour that will be tolerated."
