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| FA probe into web abuse by young Northumberland footballers | FA probe into web abuse by young Northumberland footballers |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| By Chris Stewart BBC Look North | By Chris Stewart BBC Look North |
| Football officials have called in online protection experts after players as young as 12 in Northumberland used social media sites to bully opponents. | Football officials have called in online protection experts after players as young as 12 in Northumberland used social media sites to bully opponents. |
| The Football Association move follows incidents, including one under-13s match in which online threats spilled over to on-field violence. | The Football Association move follows incidents, including one under-13s match in which online threats spilled over to on-field violence. |
| The FA has called in the government's Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) for help. | The FA has called in the government's Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) for help. |
| The Northumberland branch of the FA said the issue was a "major problem". | The Northumberland branch of the FA said the issue was a "major problem". |
| Stewart Leason, Northumberland FA development manager, said: "We are getting more and more examples where it is happening. It is happening in society generally, and some youngsters are bringing it into football." | |
| Massive change | Massive change |
| He added: "The abuse of social media is a major problem for us. It probably causes my welfare officer more problems than pitch-side behaviour or on-field behaviour. | He added: "The abuse of social media is a major problem for us. It probably causes my welfare officer more problems than pitch-side behaviour or on-field behaviour. |
| "I think in many cases, parents have no idea what their youngsters are doing online and would be horrified if they saw some of the content of the conversations. | "I think in many cases, parents have no idea what their youngsters are doing online and would be horrified if they saw some of the content of the conversations. |
| "There is a massive rate of change in technology and sport has to take on board those changes and deal with them as they arise. | "There is a massive rate of change in technology and sport has to take on board those changes and deal with them as they arise. |
| "No doubt, in two years time, we will have something else, and it's a question of working with the professionals to try to find solutions to the problems rather than have the problems dictate our game." | "No doubt, in two years time, we will have something else, and it's a question of working with the professionals to try to find solutions to the problems rather than have the problems dictate our game." |
| The CEOP team is focussing its inquiries on the under-13s game, which had to be abandoned, and a youth team cup-tie forfeited by a club when it was claimed officials feared for their players' safety. | The CEOP team is focussing its inquiries on the under-13s game, which had to be abandoned, and a youth team cup-tie forfeited by a club when it was claimed officials feared for their players' safety. |
| Both matches involved teams from the FA's Northumberland region. | Both matches involved teams from the FA's Northumberland region. |
| A spokeswoman for CEOP, which was originally established to tackle the sexual abuse of children, confirmed it was working with the FA. | A spokeswoman for CEOP, which was originally established to tackle the sexual abuse of children, confirmed it was working with the FA. |