Explosive Report Reveals Over 2,000 Extreme Abuse Posts Targeting Football Stars in Single Weekend

A disturbing investigation has uncovered more than 2,000 intensely abusive social media messages, including death and rape threats, directed at managers and players across the Premier League and Women’s Super League during a single weekend. The analysis, conducted on posts from November 8 and 9, also identified racist slurs, homophobic content, and direct threats of violence.

Managers bore the brunt of this online aggression, receiving 82% of the abusive messages on platforms like X (formerly Twitter). Among those most targeted in the men’s top flight were Premier League strategists Ruben Amorim, Arne Slot, and Eddie Howe. In the WSL, Chelsea and their manager Sonia Bompastor accounted for half of all recorded abuse. A significant portion, 61%, of these vitriolic posts originated from accounts within the UK and the Republic of Ireland, with data suggesting a worrying increase in overall abuse.

Liverpool head coach Arne Slot addressed the pervasive issue, stating, “Abuse is never a good thing, whether it’s about me or other managers. We expect to be criticised. That is completely normal. I do not have social media so I don’t see it, but I’m not stupid, I know it’s there.”

Millenium TV has learned that an extensive analysis examined over 500,000 social media posts across X, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. From these, a specialized system initially flagged 22,389 potentially offensive messages. Following a rigorous two-stage human review, 2,015 posts were confirmed as extreme abuse, violating platform guidelines through threats to life or hate speech.

Out of these, 39 particularly egregious posts—featuring monkey emojis aimed at Black players and explicit rape threats—were deemed severe enough for further action. Some cases involved reporting to football clubs for potential fan identification, and one was referred to law enforcement, though police ultimately decided against further action. Despite these grave findings, only one post flagged to Meta (owners of Facebook and Instagram) was removed, while some reported to X had their reach suppressed rather than being taken down entirely.

Maheta Molango, chief executive of the Professional Footballers’ Association, expressed his frustration, telling reporters, “If this happened on the street, this would have criminal consequences, potential financially damaging consequences. So why is it that online people have got this sense of impunity? We need to put an end to this.” Some figures in the sport, however, have grown accustomed to the relentless abuse. Newcastle manager Eddie Howe remarked, “It comes with the territory now. My advice is always to try and shelter yourself from it and become psychologically strong enough to not need to read it. But, invariably, people will show it to you even if you don’t want to see it.”

Incidents during matches frequently trigger spikes in abuse. A dramatic 2-2 draw between Tottenham and Manchester United on November 8, featuring two stoppage-time goals, led to concentrated abuse against both clubs’ managers and several players. Death threats, including one targeting Ruben Amorim that read, ‘Kill Amorim – someone get that dirty Portuguese’, were among the messages Millenium TV has reviewed.

The Women’s Super League also faced a torrent of abuse, with 97 verified abusive messages recorded around Chelsea’s 1-1 draw against Arsenal on November 8. More than half of these targeted Chelsea boss Sonia Bompastor, encompassing threats of violence and homophobic slurs. Bompastor passionately declared, “People think they can say anything they want from behind a screen. It’s scary – I want to raise my voice against that. I have a family, including kids. They don’t want to see those comments online. They are so young, and people need to realise the effect it can have on them too. Threats are a big problem, because the security in the women’s game isn’t the same as the men’s game. Abuse can cause real mental problems for players. It can go really far.” She added, “The social media companies are not doing their job, not taking the responsibility or accountability. If we have to wait for them to act, I think we will be in this situation for too long. I’m hoping now that all clubs in the women’s and men’s games are proactive and protect people as much as possible.”

The Online Safety Act, enacted in October 2023, places a legal obligation on social media platforms to proactively identify and remove illegal content such as threats, harassment, or hate speech, with Ofcom serving as the independent regulator. However, platforms often cite free speech as a reason for their reluctance to censor content. A leading data science expert, whose firm collaborated on the investigation, indicated a disturbing trend, revealing, “We’ve seen around a 25% year-on-year increase in the levels of abuse we’re detecting. We understand the platforms’ position on free speech but some of the stuff we’re talking about is so egregious. Really nasty death threats and really horrible, violent content. If the people who are the free speech absolutists out there read some of those messages, they wouldn’t question why some of these are being reported and why action needs to be taken.”

As frustration mounts, many clubs are intensifying their own efforts. Arsenal, for instance, has seen a 90% reduction in abuse from affiliated fans towards their players, coach, and owners over three years, attributing this success to educational programs and banning identified perpetrators from their stadium. Chelsea women’s team has now adopted a similar approach. Tottenham is actively investigating season-ticket holders accused of posting abusive content. Tim Cooper, the Premier League’s director of content protection, emphasized their monitoring efforts, stating, “We’re constantly monitoring around matches where the abuse can happen and looking for trigger instances such as a goal being scored, missed penalties, or even things like yellow and red cards. The platforms can do more by changing their algorithms. That would be a step in the right direction.” The Premier League has a dedicated team that has investigated over 4,000 cases of online discriminatory abuse since 2020, working to gather evidence and assist in prosecuting offenders.