TOXIC ONLINE ABUSE NOW 'ROUTINELY' TARGETING REFEREES AND OFFICIALS LEADING TO TALENT DRAIN

Key Findings: Key Findings: Working closely with leading academics and international sporting federations, including World Athletics, World Aquatics and the International Esports Federation, the coalition uses this vital research to give a voice to those affected and raise awareness, while tracking evolving trends, identifying key risk factors, and analysing regulatory gaps. Following a growing number of recent high-profile incidents of online abuse directed towards officials and...

LONDON, 09/02/2025 (informazione.news - comunicati stampa - sport)

Working closely with leading academics and international sporting federations, including World Athletics, World Aquatics and the International Esports Federation, the coalition uses this vital research to give a voice to those affected and raise awareness, while tracking evolving trends, identifying key risk factors, and analysing regulatory gaps.

Following a growing number of recent high-profile incidents of online abuse directed towards officials and referees across sports, these findings are set to galvanise the sporting world into taking collective and decisive action, led by the United Against Online Abuse campaign.

In response to these findings, UAOA has committed to leading a renewed and sustained effort to foster collaboration across the sporting, political and technology sectors. In addition to rolling out a groundbreaking EU-backed anti-online abuse initiative across Europe , this will also include hosting a major conference in North America during the summer of 2025 which will further strengthen international partnerships and design implementable solutions that drive behavioural and regulatory change.

With 28 coalition members, including nine national governments, leading sporting federations, and regulatory institutions, UAOA has formed a unified, effective and formidable international response to online abuse. This coalition growth is a major component of UAOA's significant progress over the past 12 months:

For more information and to read the full report, visit https://unitedagainstonlineabuse.com/uaoa-barometer-2025/ . 

United Against Online Abuse is an award-winning global coalition founded by the FIA President to tackle online abuse across sports. Uniting sports federations, national governments, regulatory bodies, and technology platforms, UAOA aims to foster regulatory and behavioural change to combat the rise of online harassment and hate speech.

To date, the UAOA coalition has welcomed endorsements from the Governments of Greece , France , Slovenia , Albania , Australia , Kenya , Costa Rica , Namibia and Rwanda , alongside sport federations and organisations such as FIM, the International Esports Federation, ASETEK SimSports, Peace and Sport Monaco, UNESCO, the Council of Europe , Clark Hill LLP, Arwen.AI and DCU University.

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