Published On 1/7/2026
The International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) announced that it had observed an unprecedented rise in offensive and racist comments on social media platforms during the group stage of the 2026 World Cup, stressing that the phenomenon has become an increasing threat to players and officials participating in the tournament.
FIFA’s social media supervision service stated that it had analyzed more than six million posts and comments since the start of the tournament, an increase of 33% compared to the same stage of the 2022 World Cup.
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The data revealed that the system monitored about 89,000 offensive posts and comments, including 11% of a racist nature, and more than 181,000 comments deemed offensive or inciting hatred were hidden, in addition to opening expanded investigations against about a thousand users.
FIFA confirmed that racist abuse represents the largest category of offensive comments monitored, noting that these practices have become a “permanent threat to players’ psychological safety and well-being.”
These numbers are much higher than those recorded in the 2022 World Cup, as the number of offensive posts at that time reached only about 6,700 posts during the group stage, while the number in the 2026 edition reached 89,000, noting that the current tournament is witnessing the participation of 48 teams instead of 32.
The International Federation added that it has identified more than 100 cases that may meet the legal conditions necessary to take judicial measures against their owners, as part of its efforts to combat hate speech and racism on digital platforms.
