England coach Gareth Southgate wants his players to ditch social media during the Euros.
The Three Lions boss accepts he can't ban his players to put platforms like Twitter and Instagram on the back-burner and he'll leave the decision to them this summer.
But Southgate has serious concerns about the negative impact social media can have during a tournament - and would prefer his players to suspend their accounts.
He said, “It's something for all players, all high-profile people, who might receive that negative attention, to think about.
“Do you want to put yourself in that position and situation?
“But I don't think you can make or force people into a decision. You can discuss it, and they have the maturity to make their own decisions.
“These boys have to live their lives and go their own path" said the England chief.
“Even if that would be helpful at times and you see that from far. It's got to be their journey through life and they have the right to make those calls.
“From a performance perspective, I don't see a huge positive in a lot of that interaction .
“But, equally, there are connections with fans and the public, which have been really important for the growth of our team so it's a really difficult balance.
“I made a conscious decision to come off social media when I took the Under-21 job. I didn't think it would be the right platform and didn't want to read the sort of messages I knew would be landing in my box.
“Similarly, when I'm in camp now, I try to switch off all the media, which is not great for keeping up with what's going on in the world.
“But the world is a happier place if I'm not seeing that negativity. It's something, absolutely, for our players to consider."
