Workplace safety is growing concern for players in men’s football, new report finds

• The report draws on player interviews, a survey of 41 national player unions and media reviews
  
  
• The use of flares or missiles are of particular concern, but violent acts also include players being attacked by pitch invaders or victimised from the stands
  
  
• Abuse and violence have alarming repercussions: 88 percent of unions said the threat of violence leads to poor performance by players, and 83 percent said that it contributes to mental health issues

A new FIFPRO report highlights the scale and impact of violence and abuse by fans towards professional footballers in the men’s game, while suggesting measures to increase workplace safety and protect player well-being.

FIFPRO Men’s Football Workplace Safety Report: The Impact of Violence Towards Footballers in Their Workplace draws on player interviews, a survey of 41 national player unions and media reviews; the report is underpinned by an academic research paper by Dr Joel Rookwood, Director of the Sport & Exercise Management degree at University College Dublin.

While 85 percent of player unions agree that “in most instances the relationship between fans and players is very positive and should be cherished,” 76 percent said that workplace safety is a growing concern for professional footballers and 66 percent felt that in recent years parts of fan culture have “become increasingly more violent and abusive.”

The survey findings are supported by a Council of Europe committee state monitoring report published in November under the Saint-Denis Convention that says the number of arrests at sports events, and in particular football top tier leagues, “are considerable and can be considered a growing issue”.

The use of flares or missiles are of particular concern, but violent acts also include players being attacked by pitch invaders or victimised from the stands with verbal abuse that can be discriminatory or aimed at family members. Many “hidden instances” of abuse go unreported amid a normalisation of threats and acts of aggression.

Players often silently accept aggression and do not talk about it in case it exacerbates the abuse and prejudices their employment opportunities. A player interviewed by the report’s authors said he felt that “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.”

Abuse and violence have alarming repercussions: 88 percent of unions said the threat of violence leads to poor performance by players, and 83 percent said that it contributes to mental health issues.

Unions would favour increased use of technology to catch and deter perpetrators: 98 percent said tech devices such as security scanners and facial recognition would make players safer; 88 percent said more should also be done by clubs to ban violent fans, while most agreed more steps should be taken to foster dialogue with fans about the impact of abuse and violence on player well-being.

Alexander Bielefeld, FIFPRO Director of Global Policy & Strategic Relations (Men’s Football), said: “We cannot continue to allow a culture in which footballers are the victims of unchecked and normalised aggression in their working environment: on the pitch, during team travel, at training grounds, official events, and in their private lives.

"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. Clubs, leagues, and federations have a responsibility to ensure that players, as employees, have a safe working environment to perform at their peak.”

This report has been developed by FIFPRO Player IQ, a player-focused knowledge centre that aims to help shape decision-making in the football industry to protect and improve the careers and working lives of professional footballers.

FIFPRO presents preliminary trends of upcoming workplace safety report at Council of Europe

• FIFPRO presented preliminary trends of workplace safety and violence report at fourth meeting of the Committee on Security and Safety at Sports Events
  
  
• Council of Europe’s Saint-Denis Convention is committed to making football matches more safe, secure and welcoming
  
  
• Ninety-five percent of football’s player unions agree violence and abuse is a workplace health and safety issue that needs specific regulation to enforce player protection

FIFPRO presented the preliminary trends of its upcoming Player Workplace Safety: Abuse & Violence report at the Committee on Safety and Security at Sports Events at the Palais de l’Europe in Strasbourg, France.  

The committee is the monitoring body of the Council of Europe’s Saint-Denis Convention, which FIFPRO declared its wish to become an observer, with the core aim of making football matches and other sports events more safe, secure and welcoming. Current observers include the likes of FIFA and UEFA.

The Saint-Denis Convention protects and promotes the human rights of all participants at football matches and other sports events, including the right of players to work in a healthy, safe and secure environment.

FIFPRO Europe President David Terrier and FIFPRO Director of Global Policy & Strategic Relations (Men's Football) Alexander Bielefeld provided a player-centric perspective on workplace health and safety through the lens of football’s player unions.

"Safety in the workplace is a fundamental right that almost every profession enjoys through international conventions and national policies. However, since the Covid-19 pandemic, we have seen a dramatic rise in violence and abuse against players at their place of work: the pitch, the stadium, the changing rooms, the bus ride to the match, the training ground and even online," said Terrier.

"We want to be a partner for stakeholder dialogue to strengthen collective solutions and ensure workplace safety for professional players and all other participants."

Under the international bargaining framework between football’s league and player unions, World Leagues Forum (WLF) and FIFPRO recently agreed to establish three new labour initiatives with a view to strengthen and protect national leagues and playing conditions. One of these committees is focused on violence and safety at football matches.

According to FIFPRO’s preliminary trends of its workplace safety report, players and unions fear that the pitch and the extended working environment are becoming increasingly hostile:

• 95% of unions agree violence and abuse is a workplace health and safety issue for players and needs specific regulation to design and enforce player protection;
  
  
• 98% of unions believe technology could be better used to reduce the threats posed by violent or abusive fan behaviour. This includes personalised tickets (78%), entrance scanners/detectors (73%) and facial recognition cameras (68%);
  
  
• 71% of unions say that players are worried speaking out could lead to more abuse on social media or risk employment opportunities;
  
  
• 88% of unions believe that abuse and violence has a significant impact on player performance.

"Until now there has been no or little work done to understand the issue from a player-centric occupational health and safety perspective. That is why we have undertaken an extensive global research project, analysing instances of violence towards players in the workplace. Our findings show that football wants action," said Bielefeld.

"While we continue to finalise this work, we hope that it will contribute to a wider debate on the normalisation of abusive behaviour associated with parts of football culture."