Marcus Rashford believes the fight against racism is "going backwards rather than forwards" and the England forward has called on social media platforms to get a grip on the issue.

Racist abuse has punctuated the start to the season at home and abroad, with Inter Milan's Romelu Lukaku subjected to monkey chants at Cagliari last weekend and a variety of Premier League players attacked on social media.

The Duke of Cambridge highlighted the importance of tackling racism on Friday and Rashford, one of those targeted online, believes the recent rise in abuse underlines a worrying trend.

Harry Maguire recently suggested that users should have their identification verified, while Rashford does not believe Twitter's reported monitoring of activity surrounding 50 high-profile black players will do anything to curb racism.

Danny Rose, among those targeted during March's Euro 2020 qualifier in Montenegro, has spoken regularly about his dismay at racism in football, while fellow England player Sancho this week suggested it could end players' love of the game.

"To be honest, I think that people will start to come off the platforms and if it is doing more bad than good, I don't think there's a reason to have the channels," Rashford added.

"For me, the only reason I actually have the social media channels is to help the fans, because a lot of my fans are young people and you want to help them in the future and just little stuff, whether it's your lifestyle or football-related, if you can give them bits of information that might help them in the future to become whatever it is they want to become.

"That's what the strength was of social media. And the minute that the cons outweigh the pros, it leaves you with not much point with being on there."