FIFA monitors seven million offensive comments about players and technical staff during the World Cup

The International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) announced today, Saturday, that its Social Media Abuse Protection Service, which aims to protect players, teams and officials from threats and abuse online, has detected more than seven million posts potentially containing harmful or offensive content on social media platforms during the World Cup.

FIFA indicated that the monitoring rate increased 14 times compared to the 2022 edition, during which about 470,000 posts of this type were identified and removed.

The Social Media Abuse Protection Service team reviewed more than 500,000 AI-detected messages targeting players, coaches and officials during the current tournament, and reported more than 1,000 threats to authorities, including law enforcement.

The team has monitored more than 53 million posts and comments since the start of the World Cup, which concludes tomorrow, Sunday, with the final match between Argentina and Spain.

FIFA reported earlier this month that racist abuse constituted about 11 percent of the total offensive messages monitored during the tournament so far.