FIFA Report Reveals Shocking Surge of Online Abuse during England vs France Match at World Cup!

England's match against France in the World Cup quarter-final witnessed the highest surge in online abuse towards players throughout the entire tournament, as per a report commissioned by FIFA. The report analyzed the competition held in November and December last year, revealing over 19,000 abusive posts on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, and YouTube. Additionally, the algorithms on these platforms automatically concealed nearly 290,000 comments.

The report, released on June 18, coinciding with the United Nations International Day for Countering Hate Speech, examined over 20 million posts and comments on five different platforms. Out of these, a total of 19,636 inflammatory findings were reported directly to the respective social media companies. Notably, Twitter received the highest number of reports, with over 13,000, followed by Instagram with approximately 5,300. FIFA's comprehensive analysis revealed that 13 percent of the monitored hateful posts were related to sexism, 17 percent to sexual comments, 12 percent to homophobia, and 26 percent to general abuse.

During the tournament, over 300 individuals who were found to have made abusive, discriminatory, or threatening posts or comments have been successfully identified. FIFA has taken the initiative to share this information with the relevant authorities in their respective countries. Notably, during the England vs France match, it was observed that 38 percent of the inflammatory comments originated from Europe, while 36 percent were from South America.

In preparation for the World Cup, FIFA collaborated with FIFPRO, the global players' union, to establish the Social Media Protection Service (SMPS). This comprehensive set of tools has been specifically designed to safeguard players during FIFA-sponsored tournaments.

During the previous year's World Cup, a significant number of 286,895 comments from players' social media were effectively eliminated by the service, preventing both the participants and their followers from accessing them. Similarly, for the upcoming Women's World Cup, all countries and players have been provided with the option to utilize the SMPS during the tournament in Australia and New Zealand.

"FIFA president Gianni Infantino emphasized the gravity of the report's discoveries, asserting that discrimination is an unlawful offense. Utilizing this tool, we are effectively pinpointing the culprits and reporting them to the relevant authorities for appropriate punishment.

"We also demand that social media platforms acknowledge their responsibilities and collaborate with us in combating all manifestations of discrimination. Our stance is unequivocal: discrimination will not be tolerated."