FIFA report reveals high levels of online abuse at 2026 World Cup

A report from FIFA’s Social Media Protection Service (SMPS) reveals that the French national football team faced the highest volume of homophobic abuse during the 2026 men’s World Cup. The tournament, hosted in Canada, Mexico, and the United States, saw a massive surge in online hostility, with verified abusive messages increasing eleven-fold compared to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

FIFA analysts reviewed over 17.1 million posts and comments, ultimately verifying 240,676 as abusive. These messages targeted 812 of the 1,606 individuals monitored. The French team received more than 18,000 abusive instances, with racism accounting for approximately one-third of the abuse directed at them.

In terms of specific categories, homophobia accounted for 7% of the abuse once general insults were excluded, while racism represented 20% of that subset. The report also noted that one unnamed player was a primary target, receiving over 10,000 instances of abuse involving homophobia, sexism, and transphobia. FIFA uses its “Threat Matrix” AI software to filter discrimination and has identified over 100 instances that meet legal thresholds for potential law enforcement action.