Chelsea captain Cesar Azpilicueta reveals that footballers are ready to boycott social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and others if companies don't clamp down on abuse on their platforms.

In a recent interview with CNN, the Spanish defender said that, ‘you can engage with fans from everywhere in the world, but ... they [social media companies] can do and they must do more to create a safe environment for not only the players, but even the fans.”

Azpilicueta spoke about the last boycott and how he and fellow players are ready to do it again. He stated, "In that moment, when we decided to boycott, it was something really quick. So it's not something that you need a few months to work on. I think if the action is needed, yes [we will do it].

"We have millions of followers from everywhere, but if it's the only way that we can get the attention that we want and get the social media platform's commitment to make it better, of course. "

Calling football a powerful tool, Azpilicueta said that "sometimes we see abuse, hate between fans, which cannot happen. So football is a powerful tool to make it happen and we are working on this and hopefully we can win."

Opinion: The onus lies on each one of us to make the social media platforms safe for all types of communities and more needs to be done to eradicate online hate.

Things won’t change in one day. We all must realize that there’s a human being behind the account and they all have their own personal battles. Bombarding them with racial abuse will only push them away from engaging with people who look up to them.

What do you think social media platforms can do to fight racial abuse?