World Cup sees spike in online racist abuse

New research by football’s governing body FIFA found a 13-fold increase in abusive posts across social and online platforms during the group stage of the recently completed competition compared to the 2022 World Cup.

In total, 89,000 instances of abuse were flagged by the organisation’s social media protection service (SMPS). Racist abuse represented 11% of that total, itself up 3% on the level of racist posting during the previous tournament in Qatar.

Katy Bourne, a brand and creative rights expert at Pinsent Masons, said the finding showed how organisations needed to take pro-active steps themselves in the face of online hostility.

“The rise in abusive posts, particularly racist abuse, is perhaps not surprising, given the attack on Kylian Mbappé by a Paraguayan senator and the treatment of the Iranian team in the US marred the 2026 tournament,” she explained.

“While it was hoped that Ofcom's live compliance programme would encourage service providers to take action regarding harmful content online, it is evident that more drastic measures are needed.”

FIFA’s researchers found what they described as a ‘concerning direction of travel’ towards racially aggravated abuse, with a significant increase in the most offensive material being posted.

In total, around 1,000 accounts were flagged for the abusive nature of their posts – with more than 100 examples of abuse passing the legal threshold for further action.

The SMPS said this was a 3% rise on four years ago, and added there was a significant increase in the objectively worst, most offensive material.

The findings come in the wake of research by UK regulator Ofcom last year highlighting the increasing online abuse athletes face on social media.

Pinsent Masons has developed a brand protection platform, Alteria, which enables organisations to monitor social media and online platforms for harmful content, helping sports bodies and athletes identify abuse quickly and act where appropriate.

Combined with legal support, such tools can assist with escalation strategies and enforcement action against persistent offenders.

“Clubs, organisations and sportspeople will need to deploy technology-led solutions to tackle online abuse in real-time,” said Bourne.

“Brand protection tools can be used to monitor sites and remove abusive posts and comments expeditiously.”