There was a staggering 400 per cent increase in reports of sexism and misogyny in football last season, according to the latest Kick It Out figures.
In the season that followed the Lionesses winning Euro 2022 to become the first England side in 56 years to lift a major trophy there was “a massive spike” in abuse towards female players and fans, the report suggests.
Anti-discrimination campaigners Kick It Out, who compile the statistics annually, received a record number of complaints of discriminatory behaviour — a total of 1,007 incidents — during the 2022-23 season.
The biggest rise was in sexist and misogynistic behaviour, increasing from 16 reports in 2021-22 to 80 last season.
An investigation into online abuse commissioned by the organisation and conducted by research group Signify discovered peaks of homophobic and misogynistic abuse in January and February 2023 targeted at high-profile Women’s Super League players on social media.
The research found that while on-field incidents triggered abuse, off-field events such as transfers and revelations of players’ personal relationships caused “flashpoints”.
Despite repeated promises in recent years from football’s stakeholders to tackle racism in the game, it remained by far the most commonly reported form of abuse, accounting for almost half of the incidents recorded.
And while there was an almost 30 per cent fall in reports of anti-Semitic abuse — leading to an overall minor decrease in faith-based discrimination — reports of Islamophobia were up by an astonishing 300 per cent.
The total of 1,007 reports received by Kick It Out represents a 65 per cent increase on the previous season. The most significant rise was in online abuse.
Kick It Out believes the increase in numbers can at least partly be attributed to supporters being more inclined to report incidents, less tolerant of discriminatory behaviour and more awareness around methods to record incidents.
“The significant increase in reports across the game is alarming and strengthens our resolve to tackle discrimination in all areas of football,” Kick It Out chief executive Tony Burnett said.
“Behind each of these statistics, is somebody who has sadly experienced discrimination, and supporting the victims of abuse remains Kick It Out’s utmost priority.
“While we continue to work tirelessly to Kick It Out, we call upon fans, clubs, leagues and governing bodies to help us with this cause, and we are encouraged that the number of reports per incident continues to increase, suggesting that people are becoming less tolerant of discriminatory behaviour and more likely to report abuse when they see it.
“Our figures provide a snapshot of what is happening across the game, but we still don’t know the full picture because clubs, leagues and governing bodies aren’t currently mandated to share their reporting data.
“This underscores why football urgently needs a centralised reporting mechanism to collate and monitor reports. Only once that happens can we understand the full extent of the problem within football and tackle it with the full force of the sport.”
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