PARIS :FIFA said on Sunday it had stepped up efforts to tackle online abuse directed at players and officials, reporting a surge in harmful content and referring more offenders to police.

Marking the International Day for Tolerance, FIFA said its Social Media Protection Service (SMPS) had flagged more than 30,000 abusive posts to platforms since the start of the year, part of more than 65,000 escalated since the tool was launched in 2022.

Eleven individuals in Argentina, Brazil, France, Poland, Spain, Britain and the United States have been reported to law-enforcement authorities in 2025 for abuse during FIFA competitions, with one case referred to Interpol.

The relevant national associations were alerted to allow follow-up action at local level.

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