Sadiq Khan condemns racist abuse of England World Cup stars

London mayor Sadiq Khan has called on the UK's communications regulator Ofcom to investigate racist abuse targeting England’s World Cup players, saying illegal content is 'out of control' and expressing solidarity with affected athletes. In a post on social media platform X on Thursday, Khan said ethnic minority England players, along with footballers from other nations, had been targeted by "vile" individuals while representing their countries at this year's World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico. His comments come amid reports that England stars including Jude Bellingham, Bukayo Saka, Djed Spence and Noni Madueke have been subjected to racist abuse online. "We cannot allow a vile vocal minority to divide our nation. A lot of this content is illegal and Ofcom should be investigating," Khan wrote on X. "Solidarity with every player targeted. We are united." FIFA's Social Media Protection Service (SMPS) reported that almost 90,000 abusive posts were identified during the group stage of the tournament, with racist abuse accounting for just over one in ten (11%) of all abusive messages in recent weeks. According to the SMPS, that figure is around 13 times higher than the 6,700 abusive comments recorded during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, although that tournament featured 48 matches compared with 72 this year. Concerns over racist abuse directed at players of colour have also intensified after former Dutch football manager Clarence Seedorf called for tougher action following racist attacks aimed at Black Netherlands players after their penalty shootout defeat to Morocco in the FIFA World Cup Round of 32 on Monday. The online abuse targeted several Black Dutch players who missed their penalties, prompting Seedorf to speak out. "It's enough, time for serious measures," Seedorf proclaimed in his video statement. England internationals Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka and Jadon Sancho were also subjected to racist abuse following the European Championship final defeat to Italy in 2021. The incident resulted in two people being jailed, while another received a suspended sentence. In the weeks after the tournament, British police arrested multiple individuals as part of a wider crackdown on online hate speech directed at the players. The renewed concerns over racial discrimination come during one ot the most controversial World Cups in the tournament's history, with fans, referees and players being targeted by visa refusals, long delays due to security measures, and high prices in the US. Players and staff from the Senegal, Switzerland, Iraq, South Africa and Uzbekistan teams have been refused visas and subjected to degrading security procedures. Perhaps the most high-profile case involved the Iranian national team. With Iran at war with World Cup co-host the United States, the squad was forced to relocate its training base from the US to Tijuana, Mexico . Around 15 members of the team's staff, including the head of the Iranian Football Federation and the team's photographer, were also refused entry to the United States altogether . Somali referee Omar Artan, who was named the Confederation of African Football's Men's Referee of the Year in 2025, was denied entry to the United States after arriving in Miami . The Trump administration said this was due to an "association with suspected members of terror organisations", prompting claims that Black, Asian and Muslim players, staff and supporters have been disproportionately affected by the security measures.