FIFA cracks down on digital hate, stops online abusers from buying tournament tickets
The move comes after the SMPS flagged more than 30,000 abusive posts since the start of the year, highlighting the growing challenge of keeping football free from digital abuse.
FIFA has started barring individuals responsible for serious online abuse from buying tickets to its future tournaments, intensifying its crackdown on digital hate as new data shows a surge in abusive posts targeting players and officials.
The decision was announced on Sunday, coinciding with the International Day for Tolerance, and forms part of FIFA's expanded Social Media Protection Service (SMPS), which monitors, flags, and reports harmful content during major competitions.
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The system can also block abusive messages before they reach their targets, helping protect players and officials from racist, threatening, or discriminatory posts.
According to FIFA, the ticket ban is designed to give online abuse real-world consequences and send a clear message that harassment will not be tolerated in football.
Over 30,000 abusive posts
The move comes after the SMPS flagged more than 30,000 abusive posts since the start of the year, highlighting the growing challenge of keeping football free from digital abuse.
"Since the launch of the SMPS in 2022, more than 65,000 abusive posts have been reported to social media platforms for review and removal, including over 30,000 since the start of this year," FIFA said in a statement on Sunday.
The football body added that eleven individuals have already been reported to law enforcement agencies in Argentina, Brazil, France, Poland, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States, with one case forwarded to Interpol.
"The relevant FIFA MAs have been informed of these incidents to enable them to take any necessary action at a local level," FIFA said.
FIFA said the strengthened SMPS was fully deployed during this year’s inaugural 32-team FIFA Club World Cup in the United States.
"During the tournament, SMPS monitored 2,401 active accounts across five social media platforms covering players, coaches, teams, and match officials participating at the groundbreaking tournament, with 5.9 million posts analysed, 179,517 flagged for review and 20,587 reported to the relevant platforms," FIFA said.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino emphasised that the combination of ticket bans, law-enforcement referrals, and stronger monitoring demonstrates FIFA's commitment to protecting everyone involved in the game.
"Our message is clear: abuse has no place in our game, and we will continue to work with our Member Associations, the confederations and law enforcement authorities to hold offenders accountable," he said.
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