Football to harness technology to fight abuse of players at Qatar World Cup

'Our duty is to protect football, and that starts with the players who bring so much joy and happiness to all of us,' says FIFA President Gianni Infantino

Target of abuse: England's Bukayo Saka in action during the UEFA Nations League match at the Puskas Arena, Budapest. Picture date: Saturday June 4, 2022. Pic: Nick Potts/PA Wire.

Football chiefs are to use technology to detect and block online abuse aimed at players during the World Cup finals in Qatar and beyond.

Governing body FIFA and FIFPRO, the worldwide representative organisation for professional footballers, published an independent report on Saturday to coincide with the United Nations International Day for Countering Hate Speech in which rising levels of discriminatory posts on social media surrounding international fixtures are highlighted.