FIFA's Social Media Protection Service (SMPS) has detected 89,000 abusive posts and comments during the FIFA World Cup 2026™ group stage — with racial abuse now accounting for 11 per cent of all offensive content identified, marking a 3 per cent rise compared to the equivalent stage of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™.

Scale of the problem

Across the group stage, which ran from 11 to 27 June, the SMPS scanned over 6 million posts and comments — a 33 per cent increase on the 2022 group stage. Of those, 225,000 were flagged for human review, from which 89,000 were confirmed as abusive and acted upon. Around 1,000 accounts have been referred for further investigation.

The 89,000 figure represents a 13-fold increase on the 6,700 abusive comments identified at the same stage in 2022. FIFA notes, however, that the comparison involves a 32-team tournament in 2022 and a 48-team format in 2026, which naturally generates a higher volume of content.

Racial abuse leads all categories

When identity-based forms of discrimination are examined individually, racially motivated attacks emerge as the single largest category, representing 11 per cent of all abusive material. FIFA described this segment as containing the most offensive and objectively harmful content detected during the tournament.

Beyond racial abuse, the SMPS's automated moderation tools concealed approximately 181,000 hateful comments from team accounts during the group stage, shielding players, staff, and their followers from a torrent of unwanted hostility. A total of 2,028,214 comments — including spam and bot-generated content — were moderated across group stage matches, four times the figure recorded in 2022.

Legal action and longer-term impact

As part of an expanded mandate, the SMPS now compiles evidence packages for law enforcement. Over 100 cases from the FIFA World Cup 2026 group stage alone have met the legal threshold required to prepare formal case files. Technical enhancements to the service have improved detection rates, though FIFA acknowledges the data points to a troubling trend in racially aggravated abuse.

Since the SMPS launched in 2022, it has removed more than 30 million abusive posts and comments across all major social media platforms in more than 50 languages. The service is available to all teams, players, coaches, and match officials participating in FIFA tournaments.

FIFA marked the International Day of Countering Hate Speech on 18 June with dedicated moments at four match venues. The No Racism campaign running alongside FIFA World Cup 2026 urges fans to listen to those affected by racial abuse, challenge discriminatory behaviour when they encounter it, and stand as active allies in the ongoing fight against racism.