It’s no good being a footballer in a world where online hate is pouring out. This is revealed by a study by the British telecommunications regulator Ofcom. Conducted over the first half of the 2021-2022 season, the study aimed to highlight the players most victims of insults on social networks in the English championship. Results, it is Manchester United footballers who are most exposed to violent remarks.
The analysis was carried out on a total of 2.3 million tweets where no less than 60,000 hateful contents were found. On average, 7 out of 10 Premier League players are affected by insults on social media. Half of the insults would be directed against 12 players only, 8 of whom belong to Manchester United.
Cristiano Ronaldo appears largely at the top of the players most targeted by insults. He was the target of 6 times more abusive messages than Marcus Rashford, 3rd in the ranking. Between the two teammates is another Mancunian, Harry Maguire.
The abnormally high scores for the United captain and the Portugal star are explained by two spikes in hate being poured out on social media. The first comes on August 27, 2021, when Cristiano Ronaldo signed for Manchester United. It was targeted by 97% of the day’s abusive tweets. The second came on November 7, 2021, following Harry Maguire’s missed game in United’s home loss to rivals Manchester City, as the player took responsibility and apologized to the supporters.