Reporting Online Harassment and Abuse in Sport
Sport plays an important part in many people’s lives. Whether it’s watching football, rugby, tennis or netball, there’s something for everyone to enjoy. While many of us will harmlessly enjoy watching sports for the exciting bit of competition that it is, others might watch it whilst targeting individuals and teams with unnecessary abuse and harassment.
What is Online Harassment in Sport?
Online harassment in sport is a form of abuse that targets an individual (or a group of players). This content can often be used to mock an athlete’s skills or abilities but can also target their personal and private lives, including their families and friends.
Types of harassment can include discrimination, bullying, sexism, racism, hurtful language, sexual harassment, trolling, rumour spreading and threats. Unfortunately, online abuse and harassment in sport is a very common issue and one that is constantly referred to in the media, with many players and organisations regularly speaking out against the harm it creates.
Whether it is on a pitch or online, abuse and harassment in sport should not be tolerated! Find out more about this issue below and learn how you can safely report this harmful content by following the button below.
Perpetrators of this harm can choose to target individuals for a number of reasons.
Research from ‘The Conversation’ suggests that ‘trolls are most likely to engage in abusive behaviour during or immediately after high stakes sporting competitions which provoke feelings of high anxiety or stress.’ Perpetrators can also target their favourite team or sportsperson for losing a game or making mistakes, especially during a ‘high stakes’ competition such as the Football World Cup.
With many athletes facing a lot of pressure to do well, online abuse from individuals can often take advantage of such highly emotional situations with the intent to damage their reputation and skill during matches or other events.
Unfortunately, online abuse is often aimed at specific minorities, with sexist, homophobic and racist comments being used to target individual sports people. Abusive comments can include misogynistic beliefs around female participation in sports or can target someone’s nationality and race. As an example, UEFA found that the England Women’s team were among the most abused online during the 2022 Euros.
Reports to us! Our service (delivered by the UK Safer Internet Centre) is available to anyone in the UK over 13 and can support with reporting legal but harmful material.
Report Online Harassment and Abuse here
If you have already reported content to an online platform and not had the response you had hoped for, you can also use us to escalate this material for independent review by our team of practitioners.
Reporting harmful content can go a long way in protecting our online spaces and sporting communities, continuing to highlight why hurtful behaviours should not be tolerated either on or off the pitch. It is important to reaffirm that any comment or post you read online that makes you feel uncomfortable can also have a similar or worse effect on others.
You can also check out our 'Negate the Hate' resource for those who have witnessed or experienced hate speech online and are wondering what steps to take next.
With online abuse being such a prevalent issue in sports, the UK currently has many other avenues available for those who experience (or witness) this type of harm.
Many organisations have launched campaigns and avenues of support to highlight the prevalence of online discrimination, its impact and why it isn’t tolerated.
Kick it Out – A campaign to tackle various forms of discrimination in sport including racism, sexism, homophobia and transphobia. Reporting features are available along with advice pages.
HerGameToo – An online campaign that tackles sexism in sport covering football, cricket, rugby and ice hockey. HerGameToo has reporting functions where online forms can be filled out anonymously to let individuals discuss their experiences.
Women in Football - A network of professionals working in and around the football industry who challenge discrimination and provide a reporting feature to report incidents of discrimination in the workplace.
Stop Hate UK – A helpline available in numerous parts of the UK to support individuals with reporting hate crime and discrimination.
See Red from Manchester United – A campaign from Manchester United, highlighting the importance of reporting racism, homophobia and hatred. The campaign provides an online reporting form, for fans of the team to report content on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
We offer a free downloadable button that can be embedded on your organisation’s website, also available for schools and colleges. This button can signpost users directly towards our service, where they can get the correct advice and support to report specific types of harmful material.
Organisations can host the Report Harmful Content button, showing a stance against online abuse.
Sporting events are meant to be fun and exciting opportunities and can lead to positive social change. We want to highlight how we can support those being targeted by negative and harmful content and how to create a positive online space that embraces the values of sportsmanship.
Many high-profile events are coming up, during which we’ll be providing advice and guidance. Follow us on social media to find a range of content which you can share to ensure a positive online space for all.
The 2023 Women’s World Cup, will run throughout the rest of July and into August. While this is a time to celebrate and enjoy the competition ahead, we also want to ensure that sporting communities and fans across the UK are aware of what support is available during this time to report harmful material online.
Discover how you can support the campaign below, and together let's #TackleOnlineAbuse.
You can also find more information on our Women's World Cup 2023 Campaign here.