Football: Abuse on the rise in England!
By Prof Dr Ian Blackshaw
It has been reported that over 2,000 extremely abusive social media posts, which include death and rape threats, were sent concerning football managers and players in the English Premier League and Women's Super League (WSL) during the weekend of 8 and 9 November 2025.
Racist slurs, homophobia and threats of violence messages were also issued.
It appears that managers were targeted more than players, with 82% of abusive posts made on X.
English Premier League managers Ruben Amorim (Manchester United FC), Arne Slot (Liverpool FC) and Eddie Howe (Newcastle United FC) were the most common targets of abuse, whilst Chelsea FC and their manager Sonia Bompastor faced 50% of all abuse in the WSL.
A total of 61% of all the abusive messages were sent from accounts in the UK and the Republic of Ireland.
Sadly, the data indicates that English football abuse is on the rise!
Prof Dr Ian Blackshaw may be contacted by e-mail at ‘
