Football banning orders, which prevent fans from attending matches for unruly behaviour, are set to be extended to cover online hate offences.

Match bans can currently be imposed on people convicted of football-related violence, disorder, racist or homophobic chanting.

But unveiled by the Home Office, there are plans to extend the match bans to tackle online trolling, vile racist language and other forms of online hate and abuse.

The move comes after black players in the England football team were subjected to sickening racist abuse following the Euro 2020 final last year - with Prime Minister Boris Johnson pledging at the time to get tougher on online trolls.

Home Secretary Priti Patel has said this week that a new law, in an amendment to the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, will now be brought forward to deal with those found using 'vile language' online.

She said: "This summer we saw the beautiful game marred by disgraceful racism from online trolls, who hid behind their keyboards and abused our footballers. Racism is unacceptable and for too long football has been marred by this shameful prejudice.

"Those responsible for appalling racist abuse online must be punished. The changes to the law I am announcing will make sure they are banned from attending football matches."

Football banning orders stop an individual from going to any regulated football games for between three and 10 years and latest statistics show there are currently over 1,300 football banning orders in force across England and Wales.

They can be issued following a conviction for a football-related offence or following a complaint by a local police force, the British Transport Police or the Crown Prosecution Service. Any of these agencies can make an application to the court to make an order in connection with a person who has 'at any time' caused or contributed to football related violence or disorder either in the UK or elsewhere.

Breach of a football banning order is a criminal offence and is punishable by a maximum sentence of six months in prison, an unlimited fine or both while a further order may also be imposed as they are time limited.

Culture Secretary, Nadine Dorries, said: "Racist abuse flooding footballers’ social media feeds all hours of the day has a profound impact on everyone involved in the game and it has to end.

"We are tackling this abhorrent behaviour in all forms. As well as banning racists from games, we are introducing ground-breaking new laws to stamp out abuse online and make sure tech firms tackle the hate on their sites."