Kick It Out received a significant increase in reports of racism, sexism and faith-based abuse in football last season.

At their annual review, the anti-discrimination and inclusion charity revealed that incidents involving discrimination rose by 32% during the 2023/24 season. Reports of racism went up by 47% across both professional and grassroots football. Faith-based discrimination rose by 34%, driven largely by growing Islamophobia and anti-Semitism.

Meanwhile, reports of discrimination targeting specific players went up by 43% – up from 277 to a record high of 395 for Kick It Out. 55% of these incidents were directed at south Asian players. Misogyny and sexist abuse aimed at women’s footballers rose by 44%.

The silver lining in Kick It Out’s latest figures is that it shows people are more compelled to report instances of discrimination when they see it. But these increases are less a surprise and more of a trend.

The fight against abuse in stadiums has seen some progress. But online abuse has reached unprecedented levels and systemic injustices still rear their ugly heads far too often.

It is vital that the outcome of these reported incidents are handled with the sensitivity and urgency that all victims of abuse deserve.