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FIFA and players’ union to tackle hate speech

Discrimination against footballers in social media is not uncommon. FIFA, the world football governing body, and FIFPRO, the professional players’ union, are now launching a new project to combat hate speech on social media

In view of the rampant discrimination in social networks, the world football association FIFA and the professional trade union FIFPRO want to take targeted action against hate speech. A special moderation service is to be set up at men’s and women’s tournaments in response to the increasing abuse caused by insults to football players, FIFA announced on Saturday.

Detected hate speech posted on social media will be scanned to prevent such comments from being seen by the addressee and their followers. This should significantly reduce visibility and reach.

Five months before the World Cup in Qatar, FIFA has presented a report in which the extent of insults, agitation and discrimination becomes frighteningly clear. Artificial intelligence was previously used in an extensive study to examine more than 400,000 posts on social media. Comments during the semi-final and final phases of the European Football Championship and the Africa Cup of Nations in 2021 were analysed.

The results were startling: over 50 per cent of the players had been called discriminatory names in some form, with the majority of these comments coming from their respective home countries. Homophobic (40 per cent) and racist (38 per cent) comments made up the bulk of the abuse. Many of these comments continue to be visible on the accounts where they were originally posted, he said.

“It is one of our duties to protect football, and this starts with the players who give us all so much joy through their performances on the pitch,” FIFA president Gianni Infantino said.

By Arnold