The new figures released today, incorporating reports from across the professional game, grassroots, and social media, represent a 32% rise from the previous year and are over double the 610 received in the 2021/22 season.
Encouragingly, for the fifth season in a row, Kick It Out’s reports per incident rate has increased, suggesting fans are becoming less tolerant of discriminatory abuse.
The data shows a significant increase in reports of discrimination at grassroots level, up 25% from last season (242 to 303), and on social media, where reports have more than doubled (281 to 589). There has been a small drop in reports related to the pro game (484 to 440), down by 9%, although the number of incidents reported to Kick It Out has increased.
Racism remains the most reported form of discrimination, with the charity seeing an alarming 47% (496 to 731) rise in racist abuse across all levels of the game this season, whilefaith-based discriminatory reports were also up by 34%, driven by a sharp increase in antisemitism (63%) and Islamophobia (138%).
Kick It Out has also received more player-specific discriminatory reports in the professional game than ever before, with abuse targeting players soaring by 43% (277 to 395).
Figures show that over half (55%) of the racist abuse targeting players is directed at players from an East Asian background, while sexist abuse towards female players, particularly online, is also on the rise.
Following on from a huge increase in the 2022/23 season, reports of sexism and misogyny continue to surge, up by a further 44% this year (80 to 115).
For the second consecutive season, reports of homophobic mass chanting are down, from 43 in the 21/22 season to 17 this year. This follows a change in the law and updated FA guidance where certain chants have become a chargeable offence.
The data released today, also revealed:
• A 22% increase (111 to 143) in reports of discrimination at youth level (U18s), including a seven-fold rise in abuse in U12s football (4 to 25).
• A worrying rise in abuse toward officials in grassroots football, with over twice as many reports of this nature in comparison to last season.
• Homophobic reports received from grassroots (down 24%) and professional game (down 9%) both fell. However, LGBTQ+ hate rose sharply online, with reports up from 43 to 65. Reports of transphobia online also climbed by 183%.
• A 35% rise in anti-disability insults and language.
The figures come in a season where Kick it Out has delivered a record 117 one-on-one restorative fan education sessions, with the charity also providing academy education to over 2000 players, coaches, and staff from across 42 different clubs.
Kick It Out launched a new partnership this season with the PGMOL to provide ED&I education through Kick It Out’s online education platform, The Academy, to match officials, while the charity has also employed coach educators to give grassroots coaches the skills to tackle unconscious bias.
The data suggests fans are willing to report discrimination to the organisation in record numbers, but Kick It Out wants to ensure those reports continue to drive positive outcomes for victims.
That’s why the charity has launched a new video showing how reports in the professional game are dealt with and the importance of including as many details as possible when discrimination occurs.
Sanjay Bhandari, Kick It Out Chair, said: “These figures underline the seriousness of football’s discrimination problem, with reports to Kick It Out more than doubling over the past two seasons.
“It’s deeply concerning to see how steeply reports are rising. However, we believe this increase can also be attributed to fans becoming less tolerant of discrimination and greater awareness of reporting procedures.
“Encouragingly, we are seeing stronger punishments for racist abuse in recent years, including the toughest ever handed out to a football fan found guilty of racist abuse at a football match earlier this season.
“However, we now need to see better coordination from football authorities and stakeholders to ensure there are positive outcomes for victims of abuse across the game, particularly on social media where too much discriminatory abuse still goes unchallenged.”
