A Turkish club president who attacked a referee has been arrested.

Referee Halil Umut Meler was approached and hit by MKE Ankaragucu president Faruk Koca at the end of the Turkish Super Lig match against Caykur Rizespor.

Meler was taken to hospital after the attack, with the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) suspending domestic football in the country indefinitely in the wake of the incident.

The country’s justice minister, Yilmaz Tunc, said on his X account on Tuesday that Koca had been arrested “for injuring and threatening a public servant due to his public duty”.

Meler was visited in hospital in Ankara on Tuesday by TFF president Mehmet Buyukeksi and interior minister Ali Yerlikaya. Buyukeksi said Meler was likely to be discharged on Wednesday.

“This sad event should definitely not be forgotten,” Buyukeksi said in quotes reported on the TFF’s X account.

“This should be a milestone. Today we will have important meetings. With our minister of youth and sports, with our minister of internal affairs, our minister of justice and our board of directors.

“We will provide detailed information after tomorrow’s board meeting. In this meeting, we will discuss all the issues clearly. We will give detailed information about the decisions we will make about how the league will continue.

“Let’s underline again – we strongly condemn the incident on behalf of the Turkish Football Federation board of directors and myself. This incident happened, but we cannot accept it being back to its old state in two weeks.”

In October Turkey was awarded joint hosting rights for Euro 2032 alongside Italy.

Buyukeksi said he had already received assurances from UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin that Monday’s incident had not jeopardised that project.

“There is no negativity. President Ceferin called and said ‘We are with you, we are ready to do whatever is necessary’,” Buyukeksi added.

“Please let us not misinform the public. Our goal is to ensure that football is played properly in Turkey and to continue as quickly as possible without any problems.

“But right now, our referee is important, the mental health of our referees is important. Other issues are not important. That is why we are here. We will make the necessary statements later.”

Meler has refereed in UEFA club competitions, and was in charge of West Ham’s Europa Conference League semi-final first leg against AZ Alkmaar last season.

UEFA’s chief refereeing officer Roberto Rosetti condemned the attack and added: “Violence and abuse against referees have no place in football and must stop immediately.

“We urge the authorities and the responsible disciplinary bodies to take decisive and necessary action against anyone involved in acts of abuse and violence against referees.

“Such unacceptable and distressing behaviour is detrimental to the efforts of national associations to recruit referees, which are essential for the running of the game.”

FIFA president Gianni Infantino said the attack on Meler was “totally unacceptable”, adding: “Without match officials there is no football. Referees, players, fans and staff have to be safe and secure to enjoy the game, and I call on the relevant authorities to ensure that this is strictly implemented and respected at all levels.”

Erling Haaland was not involved as Manchester City trained in front of media cameras prior to their Champions League trip to Red Star Belgrade.

The prolific Norway striker had already seemed likely to miss Wednesday’s final Group G game in Serbia after sitting out the Premier League win at Luton on Sunday with a foot injury.

Manager Pep Guardiola was unsure how long Haaland would be out when asked over the weekend, but expressed hope he would be fit for their opening Club World Cup match in Saudi Arabia next week.

That would also mean the 23-year-old, who has scored 19 goals in all competitions this season, missing Saturday’s clash with Crystal Palace at the Etihad Stadium.

Winger Jeremy Doku was also absent from the part of the training session that media were allowed to film at the City Football Academy on Tuesday morning.

The Belgian has missed the last two games with a muscular problem.

Goalkeeper Ederson was also not involved, suggesting the Brazilian could be rested in Belgrade with number two Stefan Ortega given an opportunity.

There is nothing riding on the game for City, who have already qualified for the knockout stages as group winners.

Guardiola was likely to give an update on the squad at a press conference in Serbia on Tuesday evening.

Jamaica’s senior Reggae Boyz captain and shot stopper Andre Blake, will host a goalkeeping clinic at the UWI-Captain Horace Burrell Centre of Excellence, on December 14 and 15. The clinic will run from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. each day.

This clinic will provide exceptional goalkeeper training to more than 24 youth goalkeepers selected from the top ISSA Manning Cup and daCosta Cup teams, and two female goalkeepers from Reinas Academy.

The goalkeepers will receive top-notch training led by the experienced Phil Wheddon, who also serves as Andre Blake’s goalkeeper coach at Philadelphia Union.

Wheddon is the only goalkeeper coach in United States history to have coached both the men’s and women’s national teams in a FIFA World Cup. He coached in three World Cups and won two Olympic gold medals with United States.

Other participating goalkeeper coaches include Jamaica Under-20 coach Andrew Sewell, national goalkeeper Jahmali Waite, Reinas Academy’s Neo Oxford and Kingston College’s Robert Beckford.

Blake, who will lead the Reggae Boyz into Concacaf Nations League semi-final action, as well as the CONMEBOL Copa America next year, explains the rationale behind the initiative.

“To whom much is given, much is required, and so this is my way of supporting the next generation of goalkeepers. I want to see what these goalkeepers look like and try to educate them on what it will take to get to the next level. Having Phil on board is great because he brings an extensive amount of knowledge and experience with him,” Blake shared.

Blake’s initiative is supported the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF), Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA), Sagicor Foundation, Spectrum Systems Limited, TruShake, Powerade, Courtyard Marriott, Leep Marketing, and UNL Sport.

Chelsea have confirmed skipper Reece James sustained a hamstring injury in Sunday’s 2-0 defeat at Everton.

The England right-back was one of three players who went off injured for the visitors during the Premier League contest at Goodison Park, along with goalkeeper Robert Sanchez and left-back Marc Cucurella.

A statement on Chelsea’s official website on Tuesday said: “Captain Reece James has undergone medical assessment following Sunday’s 2-0 defeat at Everton.

“The defender was withdrawn during the first half at Goodison Park and scan results have confirmed a hamstring injury. Reece will now begin his rehabilitation programme at Cobham.”

Speaking after Sunday’s match – about his disappointment at losing the 24-year-old to injury – Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino emphasised James’ importance, describing him as “one of the best full-backs in the world”.

Pochettino also said Sanchez had departed due to a knee issue, and Cucurella because of a twisted ankle.

Those problems add to an already-lengthy injury list for the west London club, who are 12th in the table.

Angus Eve received a contract extension to lead Trinidad and Tobago’s Soca Warriors into their crucial Concacaf Nations League playoff against Canada, as they hunt a spot in next year’s prestigious CONMEBOL Copa America tournament.

Should the Soca Warriors succeed in bettering their North American opponents in March, the possibility exists that Eve might not be the one to lead them beyond that, as he is not expected to receive a new contract before the Normalisation Committee’s term ends, also in March.

This was confirmed by the Normalisation Committee’s chairman Robert Hadad, on Saturday.

Eve, who recently blasted the twin island republic’s football fraternity for its lack of support, got his desire where signing a new contract is concerned, but Hadad ruled out another extension by the Normalisation Committee, whose own tenure will also end in March.

“His contract ends in March when our term ends, so in principle we agreed that we wanted the coach to run the same timelines as the Normalisation Committee,” Hadad said on the ISports radio programme on Saturday.

“Subsequent to that, the new in-coming president and the new in-coming ex-co (executive committee) can decide who they want to be their coach. Angus would have every opportunity with them to prove himself before (the end of his tenure) and hopefully, they would continue, and they would make that decision. But in principle, we did say all along that we do not think that we should be hiring a coach or anybody for that matter to exist beyond our term,” he added.

Hadad was also reluctant to have the Normalisation Committee extend itself more than necessary before its tenure ended.

“The Normalisation Committee has been making a lot of decisions without a technical committee in place and we believe that we need to give the new, in-coming executive committee the opportunity to set the football and Trinidad and Tobago Football Association up the way they want it,” he said, as he threw his support behind Eve.

“Angus though I would say is exceptional. He’s done a fantastic job, Angus and his entire team. I would expect him to be very professional because it is in his interest, if his desire is to continue coaching Trinidad and Tobago, to perform in that game on the 23^rd,” Hadad noted.

Eve guided the Soca Warriors through a spirited Concacaf Nations League campaign, as they topped their group in League A action, and progressed to the quarterfinals where, despite losing on aggregate, they inflicted a famous second-leg defeat on United States.

Hadad pointed out that the Normalisation Committee always had confidence in Eve’s leadership.

“We were very optimistic that we would perform well all along. Angus took us to where we are today, and we had faith in Angus all the way through. We understood what his development plans were; he was very candid with us, he explained to us what he was doing and when something didn’t go right, he would not be running and hiding, he would be discussing the matter with us,” Hadad shared.

“We thought him (to be) the best option to get us to where we are today. Now that he has gotten us here, yes, it is a little uncomfortable that his term ends in March and he has this very big game, but we believe if he gets us into that game against Argentina (opening Copa America match) and we manage to defeat Canada, we think that the new executive committee would consider him,” he opined.

After playing out a goalless first half in which Thomas of Cavalier had the best of the few chances created between both teams, as his close-range effort was kept out by Shaquan Davis, who got down well to his right, Mount Pleasant broke the deadlock five minutes into the resumption.

England goalkeeper Mary Earps leads the six nominees to succeed team-mate Beth Mead for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award.

The 30-year-old goalkeeper helped England reach the Women’s World Cup final back in August before eventually losing out 1-0 to winners Spain in the final, but Earps was awarded the Golden Glove by keeping three clean sheets throughout the tournament.

The Manchester United stopper is currently the bookmakers runaway favourite to take the award after picking up further accolades, including England Women player of the year, was fifth in the voting for the 2023 Ballon d’Or Feminin award – the highest-ever ranking for a goalkeeper – while keeping a Super League record 14 clean sheets for United last season.

Earps is joined on the shortlist by retired cricketer Stuart Broad, former jockey Frankie Dettori, athlete Katarina Johnson-Thompson, wheelchair tennis player Alfie Hewett and golfer Rory McIlroy.

Broad will be aiming to become the first cricketer to win the award since 2019 when Ben Stokes collected the award.

He became England’s second leading Test wicket taker with 604 before announcing his retirement on the penultimate day of the fifth and final Ashes Test and helping them draw the series against Australia at the Oval by taking a wicket with his final ball bowled and a six with his last with the bat.

Liverpool-born heptathlete Johnson-Thompson came back from injury to win her second world title in Budapest this year.

Her build-up to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics was undermined by an Achilles injury which forced her to pull out but the 30-year-old bounced back with a Commonwealth Games title in Birmingham last year and then conquered the world again in Budapest.

Three-time British flat racing champion jockey Dettori triumphed in two British classics this year, winning the 2000 Guineas on Chaldean and the Oaks on Soul Sister and is joined on the list by wheelchair tennis player Hewett and world number two in golf McIlroy.

The winner of the public vote will be announced on the night of the live show on Tuesday, December 19.

What the papers say

Conor Gallagher, 23, could be used to raise funds for new arrivals at Chelsea in January. The Daily Mail reports the club are willing to consider offers for the England midfielder with Brentford striker Ivan Toney, 27, and Napoli forward Victor Osimhen, 24, among the potential targets.

Brentford are looking for a new striker, regardless of whether Toney stays, according to The Daily Telegraph. USA international Brandon Vazquez, 25, who is at FC Cincinnati, is among the players in their sights.

Manchester United are open to offers on a string of internationals, according to The Guardian. England winger Jadon Sancho, 23, France striker Anthony Martial, 28, and defender Raphael Varane, 30, Brazil midfielder Casemiro, 31, and Dutch midfielder Donny van de Beek, 26, could all be allowed to leave Old Trafford in January.

David Moyes retains the confidence of West Ham says The Daily Telegraph. The 60-year-old manager saw his side lose 5-0 at Fulham on Monday.

Social media round-upPlayers to watch

Mason Holgate: Everton want to recall the defender, 27, from his loan spell at Southampton due a shortage of playing time, reports The Sun.

Reuell Walters: Clubs in the Premier League and Europe are watching the English defender, 18, but Arsenal have held talks to keep him according to the Evening Standard.

Portsmouth boss John Mousinho saluted Australian striker Kusini Yengi after he helped fire the south coast side to a six-point lead at the top of the League One table as they beat second-placed Bolton 2-0.

Conor Shaughnessy was also on target as Pompey recorded a statement victory at Fratton Park.

Mousinho said: “It was a great result. We were a constant threat going forward.

“I can’t remember our goalkeeper having to deal with anything in the second half. I thought we were comfortable and pushed well.

“We had opportunity after opportunity and were perhaps a bit sloppy in the final third, but when we did get it right, we scored.

“Kusini’s performance against (Ricardo) Santos, who is one of the best centre-halves in the league, was terrific.

“We wanted him to lead the line, and he handled it superbly. He was pressing Santos and the goalkeeper, and we did at the back end of the game wonder if we needed to freshen things up a bit.

“But he showed how fit he is. It was his second league start, and his first here. It was a battle that I thought the referee handled pretty well.

“We’ll savour the moment, then turn the focus to the next game.”

In a fiercely-contested first half, Bolton should have taken the lead after 28 minutes. A powerful header by Jon Dadi Bodvarsson was brilliantly pushed away by Will Norris, and from six yards out and with an open goal, Dion Charles somehow fired the rebound wide.

Pompey then had the ball cleared off the line as Yengi’s shot was partly blocked by goalkeeper Nathan Baxter and Gethin Jones hooked it away.

Right on half-time a corner kick by Jack Sparkes was met by Shaughnessy to glance his header into the net.

Pompey controlled the second half and deserved their second goal a minute from time as Yengi hammered home from six yards from a Gavin Whyte cross.

Bolton boss Ian Evatt said: “I think that in the first half we managed to wrestle control of the game but misses like the one from Dion seemed to affect the flow of our game.

“It’s always frustrating when conceding right on half-time. I thought there was a clear foul leading up to the corner and I can’t understand why it’s not given.

“The second half, they put us on our toes and we couldn’t deal with it. We lost faith and belief, we rocked and wobbled, and it was very disappointing. That’s not what we are about. We are so much better than that.

“They made it very difficult for us and basically dominated on everything. I don’t think they outplayed us, but they outfought us. We’ve let ourselves down but the players have always responded when they have to. We’ve lost the game playing their way, not ours.”

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has told Emile Smith Rowe to use his latest injury setback as fuel to return to action better than ever.

Smith Rowe has been sidelined with a knee injury and has not featured since a 5-0 win over Sheffield United on October 28.

The England international is back among the squad and has travelled to the Netherlands for Arsenal’s Champions League group-stage dead rubber at PSV Eindhoven on Tuesday.

Both sides have already qualified for the last 16 and the Gunners are also assured of advancing in top-spot.

It remains to be seen what role, if any, Smith Rowe will fulfil on Tuesday but, asked if Smith Rowe needs to start again following another injury lay-off as he aims to keep fit for a prolonged period, Arteta replied:: “I think what he’s been through is part of the experience that 90 per cent of footballers have to go through.

“Difficulties, injuries, setbacks and different types of performances now. That’s all in his bag now. If he can use that in a powerful way he’ll be a much better player.

“The way he’s done his rehab, I haven’t seen him do it before like how he’s done it this time. You see the way his team-mates reacted to his comeback which is really positive as well.

“The moment we can give him chances, the better we’re going to be.”

While Arteta admits the job of qualifying for the knockout stages is “technically done” he insists he and his players have a “duty” to try and win every game.

Smith Rowe may have travelled but his England colleague and fellow academy graduate Bukayo Saka has stayed behind.

“He is fine,” Arteta told reporters during Monday’s pre-match media conference.

“With a few of them we decided to have another day recovery just 48 hours before and he has played a lot of minutes so it wasn’t worth exposing him.

“We have five or six big injuries so we are already a bit thin.

“I don’t know in another context what I would have done but I also want everyone together with the mentality to win. I want to see that in their tummies tomorrow.”

Among the next group of players progressing through Arsenal’s Hale End set-up, Reuell Walters, Ethan Nwaneri and Lino Sousa have all been taken to the Netherlands by Arteta.

Asked if it has become harder to blood youngsters while challenging for honours, the Spaniard replied: “It gets harder and harder. So the talent has to be really good.

“(They are) three big prospects. We want to keep developing players from our system.

“They deserve to be here. There are circumstances that have brought them here. We will try to give them the opportunity if we can in the right moment.”

Carlo Ancelotti says he is not planning major player rotation for Tuesday’s final Champions League group game against Union Berlin in Germany.

Real have already won their group and reached the last 16 following five successive victories.

They are the only team in the tournament with a 100 per cent record, but, even though it is an emphatic case of job done, manager Ancelotti does not envisage wholesale changes.

Real drew 1-1 at Real Betis on Saturday and Ancelotti said: “We need to evaluate how the players that played against Betis recover, then we will choose the best possible starting XI.

“If there are some tired players who don’t recover very well, they will rest, but we don’t think about a big rotation with a lot of players resting.

“We will rotate some players if we see any risk, if the players are tired. The ones who played and don’t have any fatigue will be no problem at all.

“Our main goal was to finish top of the group, so we want to put in a good performance and close out the group stage on a high.

Ancelotti has confirmed that Kepa Arrizabalaga will start in goal, but a lengthy list of injury absentees includes keeper Thibaut Courtois, Vinicius Junior and Eduardo Camavinga.

“This is a very special competition,” Ancelotti added at his pre-match press conference in Berlin.

“Real Madrid are always favourites to win this competition whatever happens in the group stage.

“It is always difficult to win it, but we have the quality to fight for it until the end.”

Whether in-form England star Jude Bellingham, who has scored 16 goals in the Champions League and LaLiga this season, is rested or not remains to be seen.

But his stunning impact since moving to Real is not lost on his team-mates, least of all midfielder Lucas Vazquez.

“What a player. We are thrilled to have him here,” Vazquez told Real Madrid’s official website.

“The kind of player he is was clear from day one. He helps the team with his goals and works as hard as anyone.

“He is really enjoying Real Madrid, and I hope he can keep up his form and continue helping Madrid in every facet of the game.

“The team is on a great run, it’s been a strong start to the season. The aim is to finish with a 100 per cent record, so we will try and put on a good display and win the game.

“This season, despite all the injuries we’ve had, the team has not faltered from its winning mentality.

“Whoever plays, the team remains the same and that reflects very well on the group we have here.”

Thomas Tuchel has warned Manchester United there will be no let-up as already-qualified Bayern Munich attempt to extinguish the Old Trafford giants’ European hopes.

The perennial Bundesliga champions opened Group A with a 4-3 home win against the Red Devils and went on to seal progress to the Champions League knockout phase with two matches to spare.

Bayern are among the favourites to win a competition that United will be out of on Tuesday unless they seal a home win while Copenhagen and Galatasaray draw in the other final group game.

Erik ten Hag’s men would be guaranteed of at least Europa League football if they win a match that Tuchel says his side will approach with full focus despite wrapping up top spot.

“I understand that some people thought that against Copenhagen it looked like we weren’t throwing everything into it,” the Bayern boss said, referring to the 0-0 home draw a fortnight ago.

“But when you sign for Bayern or United, you sign to give 100 per cent every day.

“When you wear the Bayern Munich jersey, you behave like champions, there’s no other way.

“We have high expectations, even if we are always under pressure. United will give everything tomorrow to get through.

“But we expect a top performance from us. I hope we can match United’s enthusiasm and energy, which I’m sure they’ll bring to the game.”

United are not only desperate to stay in Europe but also determined to atone for Saturday’s shocking 3-0 home defeat to Bournemouth, which saw Ten Hag’s inconsistent side booed off the field.

“They’re always a dangerous team, they have a certain aura about them,” said Tuchel of United as Bayern look to maintain their competition record unbeaten 39-match run in the group stage.

“It’s part of the club’s DNA that they can survive difficult moments. They have ups and downs in their game, but they’ve conceded a lot of goals recently.

“In strong moments, you can see what they’re really capable of. The stadium creates special moments. It will be a big challenge for us.”

Bayern are looking to bounce back from a shocking loss of their own, having lost 5-1 at Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday afternoon.

It was their first Bundesliga defeat of the season and third in all competitions – losses they bounced back from with 4-0 away victories on both occasions.

Bayern sharpshooter Harry Kane admitted their performance against Frankfurt “wasn’t good enough” and said the group was fully focused on showing the “right reaction” at Old Trafford.

The England captain has hit the ground running and scored 22 goals since joining from Tottenham during a summer he was strongly linked to long-term admirers United.

“Every fan wants Harry to play in their team,” former Chelsea boss Tuchel said. “We’re very proud we were able to sign Harry.

“He’s a great character and a great role model, a terrific player. He scores a lot of goals and will be very happy to play here tomorrow.

“It’s a great story that we were able to bring the England captain, your centre forward, to Germany.”

Mateo Kovacic says Manchester City will need to raise their level while they are without key players if they are to remain in the Premier League title race.

The champions came from behind to win 2-1 at Luton on Sunday but did so without injured top-scorer Erling Haaland, who was out with a stress fracture in his foot.

The 23-year-old, who has scored 19 goals this campaign in addition to the 52 he netted in his debut season at City, is also likely to miss Wednesday’s Champions League trip to Belgrade to face Red Star and Saturday’s meeting at home to Crystal Palace.

In-form winger Jeremy Doku also sat out the win at Kenilworth Road with a muscular injury, joining long-term absentee Kevin De Bruyne among those unavailable to manager Pep Guardiola as his team looks to chase down a four-point gap to league-leaders Liverpool.

“Obviously we missed key players like Erling and Kevin, it’s never easy when you miss such big players,” said Kovacic. “But they are not in the moment here, we need everybody to give 10, 20 per cent more like we did (on Sunday) and then we can win games.”

The win was City’s first in five matches following draws against Liverpool, Tottenham and Chelsea, prior to last week’s loss to Aston Villa.

Defeat to Rob Edwards’ side would have left them seven points adrift of the Reds, but victory against Palace will move them to within a point of the top with the sides above them not playing until Sunday.

Bernardo Silva and Jack Grealish each scored in the space of three second-half minutes to turn the game around after Elijah Adebayo’s goal at the end of the first period had left them facing a fifth straight winless game.

“The team was confident because we were playing good,” said Kovacic. “We had not bad results, some draws where we could have won.

“This is football sometimes, then it’s about how you come back. Today we came back in a good way.

“A big three points. We showed overall great football, especially in the first half we played very well, we found a lot of players in the pockets which is what we want.

“When you do your thing and insist, the goals come. We could have scored even more, but I’m happy with the three points.

“We saw in recent games that big teams can struggle here. We showed that even when the circumstances are like this we can do our best and play good football.

“This team has shown over the years that in the tough moments, they are there, and they were there again (on Sunday).”

Napoli boss Walter Mazzarri has warned his side not to rest on their laurels as they look to nail down a spot in the Champions League knockout stages, despite knowing they could lose their final group game and still progress.

The Italians are handily placed behind Group C winners Real Madrid, sitting three points and three goals clear of their Portuguese opponents Braga ahead of Tuesday’s clash in Naples.

Having also won the reverse fixture, the Serie A outfit know they can win, draw or even go down by a single goal in order to reach the last 16, but Mazzarri expects them to be on their game.

Since marking his return to the club a month ago with victory at Atalanta, he has overseen three successive defeats, with Real, Juventus and league leaders Inter Milan presenting a fiercely difficult sequence of opponents.

And that means finding their feet is crucial, regardless of the equation in front of them.

“I don’t want to even say that we can go through, even if we lose with a one-goal margin,” he told Sky Sports Italia.

“We are not a team that can make these calculations, but a team that must play its own game, have a little more balance than the last few outings and only think about this. If we were to do something different we would just have a bad game.

“It is fundamental to get through the round, without giving anything away, and play with solidity. Against Braga it is essential to regain certainties.”

Mazzarri will make a late decision on the role of striker Victor Osimhen, with the Nigerian having flown to Marrakech to be present for Monday’s African footballer of the year ceremony.

The six-goal top-scorer is making a swift return to rejoin his team-mates, but Mazzarri will need to judge whether or not to name him in the starting XI following his exertions.

“He’ll be back tomorrow, I’ll talk to him and we’ll see if he’ll be in a position to start from the first,” he said.

“The Africa Cup of Nations will take place soon and we will have to do without him then, but we have two important players like (Giacomo) Raspadori and (Giovanni) Simeone who have already demonstrated that they are important in the past.”

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia has been struggling with illness over recent days and could be a doubt, while Braga have Nigou Siakate, whose own-goal handed Napoli the win in the earlier fixture, suspended.

While the visitors face a stiff challenge trying to leapfrog their opponents, they have similar leeway of their own over Union Berlin.

A draw would be sufficient to send them into the Europa League play-offs and will take that spot even if they lose, providing Union do not upset Real.

One in five players at this year’s Women’s World Cup were the targets of online abuse.

New data published by FIFA found 152 players out of 697 whose social media accounts were actively monitored received targeted discriminatory, abusive or threatening messaging during the finals.

Homophobic, sexual and sexist abuse accounted for more than half of the abusive posts identified by FIFA’s Social Media Protection Service (SMPS).

Players at the finals in Australia and New Zealand were found to be 29 per cent more likely to be targeted for online abuse than their counterparts at the men’s finals in Qatar.

Players at the finals were given the opportunity to opt in to the SMPS moderation service, which can intercept and hide abusive messages from view.

SMPS scanned more than five million social posts in total, with 102,511 posts flagged by AI for human review. Of those, 7,085 were subsequently verified as discriminatory, abusive or threatening and reported to platforms.

While United States and Argentina players suffered the highest volume of abuse, the FIFA data found there were 637 verified instances of abuse linked to the final between England and Spain.

The study found spikes in abusive posts and messages linked to the news that members of Britain’s Royal Family would not attend the match, and to a good luck message from Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

The conduct of Spanish FA president Luis Rubiales following the final created a significant spike in abusive and misogynistic content, FIFA found.

Rubiales was banned for three years in October after he kissed Spain midfielder Jenni Hermoso on the lips during the medal presentation, having earlier grabbed his genitals in celebration of Spain’s victory while stood in the stadium’s VIP box.

The report contained a quote from Colombia’s Leicy Santos which read: “If there is one thing that footballers suffer from the most, apart from losing, it is all the abusive comments – the taunts, the insults.

“Beyond what we do as professional footballers, we are people. Some players are able to put up with the outrageous abuse we receive online, but other
players aren’t. It is a very sensitive issue when it comes to mental health.”

FIFA president Gianni Infantino said: “There can be no place on social media for those who abuse or threaten anyone, be that in FIFA tournaments or elsewhere.

“Through the Social Media Protection Service – which was introduced one year ago, with the support of FIFPRO – FIFA has helped reduce the exposure of players, teams and officials to online abuse and hate speech by reporting and hiding more than 400,000 comments.

“Discrimination has no place in football and no place in society. Together, we say: No discrimination!”

The analysis found that 67 per cent of the abusive posts originated from North America, with 21 per cent coming from Europe.

FIFA said all of the verified instances of abuse were reported to social media platforms but said the platforms’ response to dealing with abusive content was “sporadic”.

Evidence on the identity of account holders, where viable, has been presented to member associations and law enforcement agencies, FIFA said.