Kick It Out appeal after record number of discriminatory behaviour reports

Kick It Out has appealed for help from football's stakeholders after receiving a record 1,007 reports of discriminatory behaviour during the 2022/23 season.

New figures released by the anti-discrimination organisation, which includes reports from the professional game, grassroots and social media, show a 65.1 per cent rise on the previous season.

Kick It Out received 207 more reports related to online forums and social media, an increase of 279 per cent, but racism remains the most common form of discrimination in the game.

It accounts for 49.3 per cent of the entire total while reports related to sexism and misogyny represented the largest rise in a specific discrimination type - leading Kick It Out CEO Tony Burnett to call for more support.

"The significant increase in reports across the game is alarming and strengthens our resolve to tackle discrimination in all areas of football," he said. "Behind each of these statistics, is somebody who has sadly experienced discrimination, and supporting the victims of abuse remains Kick It Out's utmost priority.

"While we continue to work tirelessly to Kick It Out, we call upon fans, clubs, leagues and governing bodies to help us with this cause, and we are encouraged that the number of reports per incident continues to increase, suggesting that people are becoming less tolerant of discriminatory behaviour and more likely to report abuse when they see it.

"Our figures provide a snapshot of what is happening across the game, but we still don't know the full picture because clubs, leagues and governing bodies aren't currently mandated to share their reporting data.

"This underscores why football urgently needs a centralised reporting mechanism to collate and monitor reports. Only once that happens can we understand the full extent of the problem within football and tackle it with the full force of the sport."