Online abuse in football: ‘the dark side to the beautiful game’

New study reveals the true extent of the abuse suffered by Premier League players

Man Utd’s Harry Maguire and Cristiano Ronaldo are two players regularly targeted
Man Utd’s Harry Maguire and Cristiano Ronaldo are two players regularly targeted
(Image credit: David S. Bustamante/Soccrates/Getty Images )

Analysis of more than two million Twitter posts has revealed the scale of online abuse directed at Premier League footballers. A report published by the media regulator Ofcom and The Alan Turing Institute found that of the 2.3m tweets sent during the first half of the 2021-2022 season, more than 60,000 were abusive.

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Swipe to scroll horizontally
PlayerClubNumber of abusive tweetsPercentage of abusive tweets
Cristiano RonaldoMan Utd12,5202.2%
Harry MaguireMan Utd8,95414.9%
Marcus RashfordMan Utd2,5572.6%
Bruno FernandesMan Utd2,4643%
Harry KaneTottenham2,1275.3%
FredMan Utd1,9247.6%
Jesse LingardMan Utd1,6053.2%
Jack GrealishMan City1,5384.4%
Paul PogbaMan Utd1,4463.3%
David de GeaMan Utd1,3942.1%
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Mike Starling is the digital features editor at The Week, where he writes content and edits the Arts & Life and Sport website sections and the Food & Drink and Travel newsletters. He started his career in 2001 in Gloucestershire as a sports reporter and sub-editor and has held various roles as a writer and editor at news, travel and B2B publications. He has spoken at a number of sports business conferences and also worked as a consultant creating sports travel content for tourism boards. International experience includes spells living and working in Dubai, UAE; Brisbane, Australia; and Beirut, Lebanon.