Brazil human rights council urges UN and FIFA action on World Cup racism

Brazil's top human rights body urged the United Nations and FIFA on Friday to act against racism linked to the 2026 World Cup, citing racist slurs and hate speech aimed at players including French footballer Kylian Mbappe.

Brazil's National Human Rights Council said racist messaging had appeared in stadiums, online and in comments by politicians during the tournament, which is due to end with Sunday's final between Spain and Argentina.

The council said a Paraguayan senator made derogatory comments about Mbappe, while former Spanish leader Mariano Rajoy questioned the nationality of French footballers. It also said Black players on the Dutch national team received heavy online abuse after missing penalties against Morocco.

In a statement sent to AFP, the council denounced what it called "a transnational pattern of structural racism, racial discrimination and hate speech observed throughout the 2026 World Cup." It asked the United Nations and FIFA to ensure that the host countries, the United States, Mexico and Canada, were properly investigating and following up on racist incidents.

Council president Ivana Leal cited FIFA figures saying that more than six million social media posts had been monitored and that 89,000 contained abusive content, including thousands of racist posts. She said the total was more than 13 times the number recorded during the 2022 World Cup.

Leal said the World Cup should bring peoples and cultures together, and said the data showed racism remained a global challenge.