All news articles
CategorySport
RegionsWORLD
ContinentsEurope
TopicsFootball
AI-generated editorial illustration based on the published article topic; not a documentary photograph.

FIFA says 812 monitored World Cup figures faced discriminatory online abuse

Loading statistics…

More than half of those FIFA monitored during the World Cup were targeted by discriminatory insults, it says. ANP also reports that 786 accounts were passed to police for further investigation.

Review information is loading.

FIFA says 812 of the 1,606 players, coaches and officials it monitored during the World Cup were targeted by discriminatory insults on social media. The figures, reported by the ANP news agency on Friday, mean more than half of those monitored were affected. FIFA said racism was the most common form of online hate it recorded. [1]

FIFA said its monitoring system counted more than 240,000 insulting comments. That total covers insults; it is not a stated count of discriminatory comments. The most-targeted player received more than 10,000 insulting messages, 40% of them racist, according to FIFA. It did not name the player. [1]

The ANP dispatch reports that 786 accounts were passed to police for further investigation. It is unclear what action, if any, police have taken. FIFA presented the figures ahead of World Mental Health Day on 10 October, warning that online hate can seriously affect the mental health of those targeted. [1]

Sign in to give this article a thumbs up or down.

About this discussion and AI questions

Private test discussion. Comments are readers’ views and are not yet automatically fact-checked. Editing is available for 60 seconds after posting.

Sign in with a confirmed reader account and choose a username to read comments and participate.

Sorting applies to top-level comments; replies remain oldest first. New comments and likes can change the order. Refresh for the current ranking.

Loading comments…