Fifa, the international governing body of football, has reported over 30,000 instances of abusive social media posts in 2025. According to a report by Fifa, these incidents involved players, coaches, teams, and match officials from around the world.
The individuals responsible for these posts were identified through Fifa's social media protection service (SMPS), which was set up in 2022 with players' union Fifpro to monitor and block abusive content. The SMPS has reported a significant increase in abusive posts since its inception, with over 65,000 incidents reported so far.
Fifa president Gianni Infantino has stated that the abuse of footballers online is "unacceptable" and that Fifa will take all necessary steps to protect players and officials from this kind of behavior. He emphasized that football must be a safe and inclusive space for everyone involved in the game, both on and off the pitch.
The incidents reported by Fifa include racist and sexist abuse, as well as other forms of harassment and trolling. The organization has taken action against these individuals, including reporting them to law enforcement authorities and blacklisting them from purchasing tickets for Fifa tournaments.
Fifa's efforts to combat online abuse come after the governing body faced criticism in recent years for not doing enough to address this issue. However, with the establishment of the SMPS, Fifa is taking a more proactive approach to protecting its players and officials from abusive content.
The individuals responsible for these posts were identified through Fifa's social media protection service (SMPS), which was set up in 2022 with players' union Fifpro to monitor and block abusive content. The SMPS has reported a significant increase in abusive posts since its inception, with over 65,000 incidents reported so far.
Fifa president Gianni Infantino has stated that the abuse of footballers online is "unacceptable" and that Fifa will take all necessary steps to protect players and officials from this kind of behavior. He emphasized that football must be a safe and inclusive space for everyone involved in the game, both on and off the pitch.
The incidents reported by Fifa include racist and sexist abuse, as well as other forms of harassment and trolling. The organization has taken action against these individuals, including reporting them to law enforcement authorities and blacklisting them from purchasing tickets for Fifa tournaments.
Fifa's efforts to combat online abuse come after the governing body faced criticism in recent years for not doing enough to address this issue. However, with the establishment of the SMPS, Fifa is taking a more proactive approach to protecting its players and officials from abusive content.
. 30k+ instances of nasty comments online? That's just crazy! 
As a fan, it's heartbreaking to see players being bullied and harassed like that. Gianni Infantino is right, though - we gotta make football a safe space for everyone. I'm all for taking action against these people who think they can just say whatever and get away with it. 
It's time for Fifa to step up their game (no pun intended!) and make sure players feel protected online. We need more support for the SMPS, too - they're doing a great job already! 
it's like they're scolding kids for playing rough in playground. newsflash: football's always been an emotional sport, and some of the trash talk that goes on is just part of the game 
people love to hate on players, coaches, or teams online... it's not like it's gonna hurt anyone's feelings 
i mean, if you're really sensitive about all this, maybe u should stick to watching water polo 
. fifa's got some good tools in place now, but i'm surprised it took them this long to take action. think about all the times those players were just trying to live their lives, and then suddenly they're bombarded with hate comments online. it's not right 
. and 30k incidents is a lot... maybe we should be more careful about what we post online? 
. I mean, 30k instances of abuse? That's like, what, a few hundred per year? It's not like the entire internet is going crazy about football or anything 
. And yeah, okay, it's unacceptable to harass players online, but come on, can't we be a bit more nuanced about this? I'm not saying players should be able to get away with posting stupid stuff online, but maybe we shouldn't overdo the punishment either 
?
football players are being bullied online so much 
it's like what's the point? 
can't they just chill out and be civil? 
but at the same time, i get why fifa is all up in arms about it 
we need more kindness and empathy online 
so let's all try to do better, okay? 