In April 2021, Real Madrid goalkeeper Rodrigueez faced pressure after deleting a tweet showing a photo with Marco Asensio, a fellow member of the men’s squad. The backlash quickly turned into a flood of sexist abuse. In the same month, Liverpool players Trent Alexander-Arnold and Naby Keita were targets of racist conduct online following a defeat to the white club. Swansea City, the Welsh club, and its players also paused their social accounts for several days in protest.
The pattern wasn’t isolated. Over recent years, footballers have contended with sexist, homophobic, or racist abuse both on the pitch and away from it. This harmful behavior has echoed across other sports as well.
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Australian football authorities have launched a software system that employs machine learning to shield players and their vast audiences from harmful comments online. This marks a pioneering effort of its kind on the world stage.
Artificial intelligence
The automatic filter, developed by the British tech group GoBubble Community, works across the accounts of every player and club involved in both men’s and women’s competitions.
Henry Platter, co‑founder of GoBubble, explains that the machine learning system scans social media content for words, expressions, symbols, images, and emojis in 21 languages deemed offensive. It blocks those posts and comments in a fraction of a second. The sender’s freedom of expression is preserved; their content simply isn’t displayed to the targeted audience.
The software searches and blocks words, phrases, symbols, images, and emojis in 21 languages known to be offensive.
In this approach, abusive, derogatory, harmful, or offensive material is hidden from clients’ social media channels, including clubs, players, or governing bodies. This provides protection for those mentioned and for many followers who would otherwise be exposed.
Hate crimes
The challenge with such messages is that they harm not only the recipient but also the many followers who may see them. Social networks in the sports world carry a dual effect, capable of amplifying condemnation and driving corrective action. Maria Jose Lopez, co‑director of the Legal Department at the Spanish Footballers Association (AFE), highlights this dynamic.
In recent years, official bodies have analyzed stadium incidents and urged disciplinary probes. Yet online behavior operates by its own rules. Lopez calls for a firm, strategic stance against expressions of hatred.
We need to be very tough and strategic against manifestations of hatred.
Plans include a session with Civil Guard representatives at the AFE, along with psychologists and NGOs, to discuss prevention and response. The aim is to learn how to act when abuses occur and how to report them so networks can remove harmful content swiftly.
Platform providers share responsibility because abusive messages targeting race, national or ethnic origin, gender, or sexual orientation can amount to hate crimes. The AFE Legal Department notes that security forces may be involved to identify those responsible.
Glance
anonymity often hides the authors, making reporting harder. After several April 2021 incidents, British men’s and women’s clubs supported Swansea’s boycott by deactivating all social media accounts from 3:00 PM on April 30 to 11:59 PM on May 3. The aim was for platforms to promptly block or remove offensive posts. A joint statement with other football organizations stressed the need for stronger action from Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Javier Antuña Fernandez, a sports psychologist, argued that platforms should actively control abuse and ban those accounts. He believes platforms have the tools; they simply need to apply them more decisively.
The platforms themselves should exercise their own control over abuse and ban or penalize those accounts.
Youth
The psychologist notes that athletes often rely on common sense as they progress toward elite status. They tend to be younger and less mature, especially in football, where abuse is prevalent among ages 16 to 22. They may lack robust tools to tolerate external noise. Liverpool’s Premier League strategy in January highlighted the need for mental health support to protect young players from online attacks.
Abusive messages frequently accompany underperformance, boosting an athlete’s sense of powerlessness and eroding confidence. Many athletes struggle to separate their sport life from private life, and some believe that competition results define their entire identity. This is a common experience as athletes retire from professional careers.
Remove RRSS?
Some counsel stepping back from social networks or treating them more like a personal brand; others insist that social media remains essential for self-expression. A psychologist explains that athletes should align their digital presence with a clear goal and then build the brand from there.
Across sports, more young people have sought help since the pandemic. The mental health stigma is gradually easing as peers offer support, although competition remains intense and respectful online is in high demand.
Youth athletes now support each other when help is needed and are breaking through mental health stigma.
There is broad agreement on the need for more active participation against harassment and less anonymity on social platforms. GoBubble’s software rollout represents a step forward, with ongoing discussions across several countries, though privacy details remain undisclosed. Adelaide United’s Josh Cavallo praised the move as a game changer in Australia, having faced death threats in the past. The hope is for a safer online environment for all athletes.
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