One in three fans have experienced online abuse

One in three football fans say they have experienced online abuse, a Kick It Out report has found.

Most fans feel there is less discrimination in football now than 30 years ago, with 73% believing the game has become more inclusive.

However, 70% of fans said they would call out a friend for discriminatory behaviour but not confront a stranger.

Kick It Out was set up in 1993 to fight racism in football, then was expanded four years later to tackle all forms of discrimination.

A number of players have been targeted by online racial abuse including England stars Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka following the Euro 2020 final defeat by Italy.

The report found 76% of supporters are concerned about the impact of online abuse on inclusivity in the game.

In July, Kick It Out said they had received a 65% rise in reported incidents of discriminatory behaviour during the 2022-23 season.

The charity's chair, Sanjay Bhandari, said fans felt football has become "safer, more inclusive and more welcoming" because of the work Kick It Out had done but added the game could not "rest on its laurels".

He said: "We remain unwavering in our resolve to end all forms of discrimination in sport for good and need stakeholders across sport to join us on that journey."

Chief executive Tony Burnett called on football to introduce a "transparent system" to track representation within the sport.

"We also want football to commit to targets for better representation, whether that be black managers, South Asian professional players, or black, Asian and female leaders and referees," said Burnett.

"Our job is far from over, and we will be working tirelessly with our football partners in the years ahead to deliver tangible change in those areas."

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