FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) has reaffirmed its commitment to combating online hate by revealing that more than 65,000 abusive posts have been reported to social media platforms since launching its Social Media Protection Service (SMPS) in 2022, with over 30,000 flagged this year alone.
The announcement came on the International Day for Tolerance, as the global football governing body emphasized that hate and discrimination have no place in the sport. The enhanced SMPS is now available to all players, teams and officials at FIFA tournaments, as well as to FIFA Member Associations (MAs) throughout the year.
Since the beginning of this year, 11 individuals have been reported to global law enforcement authorities in Argentina, Brazil, France, Poland, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States following abuse during FIFA competitions. One case was submitted to Interpol, with relevant FIFA Member Associations informed to enable local action.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino stated that football must be a safe and inclusive space on the pitch, in the stands and online. He emphasized that through the Social Media Protection Service and by deploying advanced technology and human expertise, FIFA is taking decisive action to protect players, coaches, teams and match officials from serious harm caused by online abuse.
The organization is blacklisting individuals responsible for highly abusive behavior, aiming to prevent them from purchasing tickets for any future FIFA tournaments or events. Infantino made clear that abusive behavior has no place in football or society, and FIFA is taking all possible steps by reporting incidents and implementing these purchasing restrictions.
The service was implemented at the inaugural FIFA Club World Cup, where all 32 teams featuring players of 72 nationalities were protected by proactive monitoring. During the tournament held on American soil, SMPS monitored 2,401 active accounts across five social media platforms covering players, coaches, teams and match officials.
Analysis during the Club World Cup processed 5.9 million posts, with 179,517 flagged for review and 20,587 reported to relevant platforms. The service detected and reported any violent, threatening or discriminatory content directed at participants in the groundbreaking tournament.
The Social Media Protection Service is designed to shield individuals from online abuse, particularly racist, discriminatory or threatening messages sent during major competitions. It also prevents account holders’ followers from being exposed to abusive posts, thereby stopping the normalization of such behavior.
The system monitors for abusive or hateful content directed at players, coaches, teams and match officials while reporting and helping remove harmful content from platforms. It escalates the most egregious abuse for law enforcement action and filters abusive messages before they reach intended recipients.
FIFA collects data through the service to support disciplinary action and improve long term safeguarding against online hate. The organization continues working with Member Associations, confederations and law enforcement authorities to hold offenders accountable.
The enhanced protection service reflects growing recognition across sports of the psychological impact online abuse inflicts on athletes and officials. By combining technological monitoring with human expertise, FIFA aims to create safer digital spaces for football’s global community.
