FIFA have laid bare the shocking scale of social media abuse to which footballers are being subjected after commissioning studies into Euro 2020 and the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.
The reports found that more than 55 per cent of players were abused across the two tournaments, with England stars Bukayo Saka and Marcus Rashford understood to be the two most targeted players of the Euro 2020 final. Alongside Jadon Sancho, the Three Lions aces missed penalties in England’s defeat by Italy at Wembley.
The studies found that one per cent of all football tweets are discriminatory. FIFA, working alongside world players union, FIFPRO, used artificial intelligence to track more than 400,000 social media posts during the semi-finals and finals of the two tournaments.
