Online abuse can have a serious impact on the mental health of those targeted, potentially contributing to anxiety, chronic stress and depression. In this context, FIFA’s continued investment in its Social Media Protection Service (SMPS) reflects the organisation’s commitment to making the digital world a safer place for the players, coaches, other team representatives and match officials as well as the teams, involved in FIFA events.

On the eve of World Mental Health Day, FIFA has revealed that the SMPS analysed over 17 million posts and comments surrounding this year’s FIFA World Cup™, 240,000 of which were verified as abusive following human review. Compared to the figures registered even during the Group Stage of the FIFA World Cup 2026™ (11%), racial abuse rose to account for 20% of all categorised abuse, i.e. not including cases that come under general abuse, across the North American showpiece. Violent threats were recorded in 14% of cases and xenophobic abuse featuring in over one in ten posts and comments identified as abusive, i.e. 12% of the total. The proportion of abusive content verified as racist in relation to the tournament as a whole was higher than the figure corresponding to the group stage (11%).

Amongst the features of the SMPS, it protects participants at FIFA events by hiding unwanted content, such as offensive comments and spam. During the latest FIFA World Cup, the SMPS moderation tool automatically scanned 60.7 million user remarks across official FIFA platforms and Participating Member Association channels. Of this total, 9.2 million messages, which accounted for 15% of all interactions, were blocked from public view prior to reaching general audiences. This filtered content included user submissions that flagged obviously fraudulent (bot-like behaviour and spam) or harmful content. The figure of over 17.1 million analysed posts and comments at this year’s edition of FIFA’s flagship men’s competition is lower than the total of almost 20 million pertaining to the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™. The increase in reported numbers compared to those at the Qatari showpiece can in part be attributed to technology improvements. The enhanced efficiency of the service’s artificial intelligence (AI) moderation tool resulted in the volume of moderated posts and comments jumping from 13.7 million at the 2022 event to 60.7 million at this year’s instalment.

The total amount of comments and posts reviewed by human analysts rose marginally, from 434,000 at the competition contested on Arab soil to 477,000 at the tournament held in Canada, Mexico and the United States. This is due to the fact that a greater number of comments and posts were automatically intercepted, with the AI tool having become more intuitive. Indeed, the SMPS is becoming ever more effective and adept at protecting users and followers. In addition, FIFA has worked collaboratively, and engaged more frequently, with social media platforms. At this year’s edition of the global bonanza, the service flagged offensive AI-generated imagery that had not been moderated by the platforms, which acted swiftly to remove the content. Over half of the individuals monitored by the SMPS in the context of the most recent instalment of the tournament received at least one abusive message, which underscores the need for constant improvements in the battle to counter online hate. Speaking about the SMPS, FIFA President Gianni Infantino said: “Ahead of World Mental Health Day, we are reinforcing FIFA’s commitment to protecting the football community from online hate through optimised technology that tackles not only manually created content, but also AI-generated imagery. At this year’s FIFA World Cup, in addition to analysing over 17 million posts and comments, we intercepted 240,000 instances of hate. Moreover, we reported hundreds of accounts posting threatening content to law enforcement for further action. We remain resolute. FIFA’s SMPS is at the disposal of football stakeholders with a view to supporting all 211 FIFA Member Associations and the confederations alike, because we need to unite to tackle this abhorrent behaviour that causes distress and affects emotional well-being.”

In relation to the competition staged between 11 June and 19 July this year, a total of 2,905 accounts passed the threshold for potential criminal investigation, 786 of which were referred to law enforcement for review. Of these accounts, 232 were found to have published some highly severe and threatening content that could pose a real security threat and were prioritised for investigation. Deep-dive inquiries into these accounts were conducted, which involved multidisciplinary agencies carrying out hours of evidence-gathering work. Beyond the numbers, the findings highlight the personal impact of online abuse on players, coaches, match officials and other team representatives, as well as their families. Those close to participants in the game may be targeted by individuals who direct abuse, thereby compounding the distress caused. In addition, steps were taken during the FIFA World Cup 2026 to shield match officials from abhorrent and relentless cyberaggression. The SMPS intervened to defend officials from doxing, a malicious practice that shares private and personal information relating to an individual, inciting abuse from others.

“Our objective is to ensure that our match officials can focus fully on the on-field action and that they are not concerned about what is being published about them on social media channels,” said FIFA’s Chief Refereeing Officer, Pierluigi Collina. “The abuse that is being directed towards match officials online can be seen by everyone, including their friends and family. Nobody deserves to receive abuse in the workplace – and why should we accept it for match officials, coaches and players? Tools like FIFA’s SMPS, which enables criminal investigations to be launched, are an important deterrent in the fight to keep football, and society as a whole, free from abuse.” If you have been affected by any of the issues raised here, please visit Befrienders Worldwide (befrienders.org) or Find a Helpline (findahelpline.com) to find support near you.