Rabat — FIFA announced on Sunday that it has strengthened its social media moderation service, which protects players, teams, and officials participating in its competitions from online abuse throughout the year.
The world football governing body’s monitoring service flagged more than 30,000 abusive posts on social networks in 2025 alone, according to the statement.
Since FIFA launched this tool in 2022, the organization has identified over 65,000 hateful or discriminatory messages across various platforms.
The system monitors and moderates online posts targeting players, teams, and officials, aiming to eliminate toxic behavior and create a safer environment for everyone involved in football.
FIFA has also taken legal action beyond content moderation, reporting 11 individuals to public authorities for verbal abuse related to FIFA competitions in countries including Argentina, Brazil, Spain, the United States, France, Poland, and the United Kingdom.
The footballing body even referred one case to Interpol for an international investigation. These measures aim to deter people from unacceptable behavior and prevent them from attending FIFA events through a “blacklist” that blocks their access to tickets.
The moderation service, which FIFA deployed during several 2025 competitions, monitored 2,401 active accounts across five social media platforms during the first FIFA Club World Cup. The tournament brought together 32 teams representing 72 nationalities. The system analyzed 5.9 million posts and reported more than 20,000 hateful messages to the relevant platforms.
“Football must be a safe and inclusive space, both online and offline. FIFA takes concrete action to protect football’s actors from the harm caused by online verbal abuse,” said Gianni Infantino, FIFA President. “Violent behavior has no place in our sport, and FIFA will continue working with authorities to punish offenders,” he added.
The moderation service detects, reports, and helps remove abusive content while filtering and blocking messages before they reach their intended targets. FIFA also collects data to support disciplinary actions and strengthen long-term protection against hate.
With this initiative, the governing body hopes to send a clear message: fighting hate and discrimination remains a top priority, and football, like society, must be a place of tolerance and respect.
