Violence and abuse a growing concern in men's soccer, says FIFPRO

MANCHESTER, England : Workplace safety is a growing concern for footballers, who are having to deal with flares and missiles being hurled from the stands, pitch invaders and verbally abusive fans, outlined a FIFPRO report released on Thursday.

The global players union said footballers complained that they often had to accept the aggression in silence rather than talk about it for fear it might exacerbate the abuse or impact their job opportunities.

"I have this feeling that this constant access to the real me as a player has lowered the threshold for fans in the stadium to a point where some think they are entitled to do things which they really aren't," said one player interviewed for the 28-page report titled 'The Impact of Violence Towards Footballers in Their Workplace'.

The findings outlined in the report were based on player interviews, a survey of 41 national unions, media reports and a research paper by University College Dublin's Dr. Joel Rookwood.

Abuse can have serious repercussions with 88 per cent of unions saying the threat of violence leads to poor performance by players, and 83 per cent saying that it contributes to mental health issues such as depression.

Ninety-eight percent of unions reported they would welcome increased use of technology such as security scanners and facial recognition to catch and deter perpetrators, with 88 per cent saying more should also be done by clubs to ban violent fans.

"Given the mounting levels of violence, it is important football stakeholders, social partners and public institutions increase cooperation to identify measures that ensure the safety of players, staff and spectators," Alexander Bielefeld, FIFPRO's director of global policy and strategic relations for men's