FIFA steps up its fight against hate speech at the 2026 World Cup
Under the motto 'One team, united against hate', captains exchanged pennants in four stadiums, while FIFA's social-media protection service removed 530,000 offensive posts in the first week alone.
To mark the International Day for Countering Hate Speech, FIFA stepped up its measures against discrimination at the 2026 World Cup. In four tournament stadiums, national team captains exchanged pennants carrying the message 'ONE TEAM. UNITED AGAINST HATE' during the pre-match ceremony, a visible gesture against racism and every form of discrimination.
The governing body highlighted its social-media protection service, running since 2022. Since then, the tool has removed more than 30 million offensive posts in over 50 languages. For 2026, FIFA expects to take down up to five times more offensive content than at the previous edition.
The early figures from the 2026 World Cup point in that direction: in the first week of the tournament alone, 530,000 offensive messages were removed, surpassing in just seven days the totals recorded across the whole of 2022.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino was emphatic: "Hate speech has no place in football or anywhere else," warning that attacks on players amount to "a direct attack on football itself."
Source: official FIFA media release (inside.fifa.com).