KIO received a record number of reports of discrimination in a single season for 2023-24, with levels of sexism, misogyny and racism all on the rise.

Across all levels of English football, there were 1,332 incidents reported by the organisation – a 32% increase. Racism remained the most reported form of discrimination, with a 47% rise in abuse across all levels.

“These are footballers, but they’re [also] real human beings, and when you see the abuse that they face, it’s just totally unacceptable,” said Okafor.

“We did a research with 1,500 women fans, and one in four still feel unsafe going to games. 52% said they experienced sexism within a stadium. So there’s still a huge amount of cultural work to do to make the game more inclusive.

“People are feeling more freedom to share their toxic and discriminatory abuse online, in particular.”

But rules in the 2023 Online Safety Act, due to come into force later this year, compel social media firms to show they are removing illegal content, with the platforms given until March to implement measures or face fines.

“We believe that’s going to give the regulator more powers to be able to hold the social media firms to account, as well as providing better user-empowerment tools,” said Okafor.

“This is really important, because you can see the impact it has. So this is a real opportunity to tackle that. It can be a real game changer.”

Tech giant Meta recently announced it is abandoning the use of independent fact checkers on Facebook and Instagram, to the dismay of campaigners against hate speech online.

“That really does trouble me,” said Okafor. “That really does make the job harder.

“And that’s why we need the regulators to use their powers to really hold social media firms to account, and to issue those penalties.”