Escalation step… FIFA appealed to the judicial system because of racism in the World Cup.

In a scene that reflects the dark side of the digital age, the Fédération Internationale de Football Association’s (FIFA) social media protection service has revealed disturbing figures during the World Cup group stage, which saw a massive wave of hate speech directed at both players and fans.

FIFA’s monitoring systems looked at nearly 89,000 offensive posts and comments across various social media platforms in an official report released by FIFA, noting that more than a tenth of those posts contained overt racist motivations, making racism the largest percentage of offensive content at 11% of all offending posts.

FIFA clarified that this number is not just a passing statistic, but rather represents a 3% increase compared to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, confirming that racist violence through the digital space is steadily increasing and becoming a real and ongoing threat to the safety and mental health of players.

He noted that of the six million posts and comments subject to automatic analysis, 225,000 were thoroughly investigated and accordingly more than 89,000 offensive content was deleted, while 181,000 hateful comments were actively hidden as part of the monitoring and protection process.

FIFA’s efforts have not been limited to deletions and cover-ups, as the federation has announced the identification of a thousand suspicious accounts to continue their activities. Most importantly, an advanced social media management system works to collect and document digital evidence for the benefit of law enforcement.

In an escalating move, the Protection Service confirmed that it has identified more than 100 cases that meet the necessary legal conditions and criteria and will formally send them to the competent judicial authorities to file lawsuits against their owners, sending a clear message that the digital space is not a permissive arena without accountability.