Arabic version: زيادة الإساءة العنصرية خلال مراقبة وسائل التواصل الاجتماعي لكأس العالم 2026
FIFA’s social media protection service (SMPS) has reported a troubling rise in racist abuse on social media during the 2026 World Cup. According to BBC News, a total of 89,000 abusive posts were identified during the group stage of the tournament. This figure represents a staggering 13-fold increase from the 6,700 abusive comments recorded in 2022, although 48 matches were played in Qatar rather than 72.
Racism accounted for 11% of all online abuse, marking a 3% rise compared to four years ago. The SMPS highlighted a significant increase in the most severe forms of offensive material. More than 100 instances of abuse reached legal thresholds for potential action, indicating a serious concern regarding racially aggravated online behavior.
The report noted that the Netherlands players who missed penalties in their last-32 shootout against Morocco faced a wave of racist abuse. Players Justin Kluivert, Quinten Timber, and Crysencio Summerville were targeted with discriminatory and hateful comments on social media, as confirmed by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB).
The SMPS’s analysis included scanning over six million posts and comments, reflecting a 33% increase in the volume of content reviewed. Of these, 225,000 posts were flagged for human review, and around 1,000 accounts were identified for further investigation, with 181,000 hateful comments hidden from view.
