September 7 – British-based anti-racism body Kick it Out has warned of the increase of hate incidents surrounding football, saying it received 402 reports of discrimination last season, up from 393 in 2014-15. Of those, 135 were in the professional game.
The most significant rise concerned social media, with 194 reported incidents, an increase of 18%.
The Kick It Out report, which warns of “worrying levels of hate and prejudice in society”, comes just 24 hours after new figures suggested a general 20% rise in hate crime in England and Wales and the organisation is calling on sponsors and football authorities to work together to tackle the issue.
Hate crimes are frequently being cited as one of the negative effects of Brexit and Kick It Out chairman Lord Herman Ouseley said: “Young people are vulnerable to the increased levels of prejudice and hate which has been evidenced by increases in reported hate crimes and incidents.”
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