Online Abuse in Sports: A Growing Crisis

Feb. 8, 2025 /Mpelembe Media/ — A landmark report from the FIA’s United Against Online Abuse (UAOA) campaign reveals that online abuse is routinely targeting sports officials and referees, causing a significant talent drain. The report highlights a sharp increase in misogynistic and racist abuse, with 90% of federations believing unchecked abuse will drive athletes away from their sports. UAOA, a coalition of sporting federations, governments, and technology companies, is working to combat this issue through collaborative efforts and initiatives, including a new EU-backed anti-online abuse program. The campaign’s aim is to foster regulatory and behavioural change to protect all members of the sporting community.

Online abuse in sports is a significant and growing problem, with wide-ranging impacts on athletes, officials, and the sports community.

Scope of the problem:

Widespread Targeting: Online abuse is now routinely directed at referees and officials, in addition to athletes.

Misogyny and Racism: A large proportion of the abuse is classified as misogynistic or racist, with half of all identified abuse falling into these categories, a notable rise compared to the previous year.

Threats of Harm: 75% of federations have reported continued threats against competitors and their families.

Impact on Officials: 50% of federations report that volunteers and officials are now routinely targeted, demonstrating the growing scope of the problem.

Risk of Talent Drain: 90% of federations believe that unchecked abuse risks driving athletes away from sport.

Impact of the problem:

Talent Drain: The prevalence of online abuse is leading to the risk of losing competitors, referees, and officials from the sporting world.

Reduced Participation: The abuse is threatening to drive athletes away from sport, which could lead to a reduction in overall participation.

Efforts to Address the Issue:

United Against Online Abuse (UAOA) Campaign: The FIA has launched the UAOA campaign to tackle online abuse across sports.

Coalition Growth: The UAOA coalition has grown by 150% in the past year, indicating an increase in awareness and unified efforts to address the issue.

International Collaboration: UAOA is collaborating with various sports federations, national governments, regulatory bodies, and technology platforms.

EU-backed Initiative: UAOA is implementing an EU-backed initiative to combat online abuse across Europe.

Research and Education: UAOA is conducting research, producing publications, and developing educational modules to raise awareness and address the issue.

Funding for Research: UAOA has secured funding to research topics, including online misogyny in motorsport.

International Conference: UAOA is planning to host a major conference in North America in the summer of 2025 to further strengthen international partnerships and solutions.

The sources highlight the significant impact of online abuse in sports, noting its potential to cause talent drain and decrease participation rates. The UAOA is actively working to address this problem by fostering collaboration across different sectors, expanding research, and creating educational opportunities to drive meaningful change.

Half of all identified online abuse in sports is classified as misogynistic or racist. This is a notable increase in specificity compared to 2024.

It is important to note that the scope of online abuse has broadened to include officials and referees in addition to athletes.

50% of federations report that volunteers and officials are now routinely targeted.

In addition, 75% of federations reported continued threats against competitors and their families.

The problem is so severe that 90% of federations agree that unchecked abuse risks driving athletes away from sport.

These statistics are from the FIA’s United Against Online Abuse (UAOA) campaign, which is working to address the problem. The campaign is collaborating with various sports federations, national governments, regulatory bodies, and technology platforms to combat the rise of online harassment and hate speech.

The United Against Online Abuse (UAOA) coalition has garnered support from a number of governmental bodies. Specifically, nine national governments have endorsed the coalition. These governments are:

Greece

France

Slovenia

Albania

Australia

Kenya

Costa Rica

Namibia

Rwanda

In addition to these national governments, the coalition also includes endorsements from sport federations and organisations such as FIM, the International Esports Federation, ASETEK SimSports, Peace and Sport Monaco, UNESCO, the Council of Europe, Clark Hill LLP, Arwen. AI and DCU University. The UAOA has 28 coalition members in total.