Reporting Discrimination

How to report incidents of discrimination at a professional game

How to report discrimination in professional football - whatever your involvement

If you’re a SPECTATOR AT A PROFESSIONAL MATCH 

The guidance below applies to domestic matches not at Wembley Stadium.

If you’re a spectator at a professional match and witness discriminatory behaviour from another spectator at any point whilst inside the stadium, please report it to the nearest steward or police officer.

Many professional clubs also offer fans at their stadium a confidential text service to contact during the match – similar to the one operated by Wembley Stadium.

If you’re outside the stadium, on the way to/from a match or on social media then report it to Kick It Out through their online reporting form or via their reporting app available on both iOS and Android. Alternatively, email Kick It Out at report@kickitout.org 

You should also report it to the police, either:

- In person

- By calling the local police on 101

- By completing the online reporting form you’ll find here

- By calling 999 if you are in an emergency

- You can also report it to The FA at integrity@TheFA.com 

To report discrimination witnessed at Wembley Stadium, click here

If you are a PROFESSIONAL PLAYER

The guidance below applies to any player in the Premier League, English Football League, National League System (steps 1 to 4), the Barclays FA Women’s Super League or FA Women’s Championship.

If you or another player is subject to discriminatory abuse at a game by either the crowd or another player, report it to a match official as soon as possible. 

If for any reason you cannot report it to a match official at the time or after the game, you can email integrity@TheFA.com 

Further details on reporting discrimination and the process that is followed in these instances are also provided on pages 26-29 of The FA’s ‘Essential Information for Players’ guidance, which you will have been given at the start of the season and which you can also download below.

If you are a member or associated member of the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA), you can report discrimination incidents via equalities@thepfa.com or for online abuse at enough@thepfa.com  The PFA has support systems in place. You can read more about the PFA’s work on reporting discrimination in football here.

If you are a club employee at a PROFESSIONAL GAME

If you are a manager, coach, physio, kit supervisor or any other member of broader team operations and experience discriminatory abuse from another participant connected to the match (e.g. a player or staff member of the other team), you should report it to a match official as soon as possible. In practice this would ordinarily be the fourth official. 

At games where no fourth official is present, you should report it as soon as possible to another one of the match officials. 

If the discriminatory abuse has come from a spectator and there is no fourth official, you should bring it to the attention of either: one of the other match officials, the security officer or senior steward or the person responsible for the security of the game.