Crackdown underway after French players targeted with vile abuse

A French players’ union has launched a platform enabling rugby players to report online abuse in response to a growing number of cases of online harassment targeting rugby athletes.

A number of high-profile cases have made headlines in France in recent months and now Provale Rugby are taking action.

This initiative includes a new form available online where players can report incidents of cyberharassment detailing the medium through which the abuse was received – whether through social media platforms like X, Instagram, Facebook, or via text messages – and to submit evidence in the form of written or voice messages.

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Provale has committed to becoming a “civil party” in each case to support the players through legal processes.

This development comes in the wake of increasing instances where players have faced insults and threats online. In February ASM Clermont-Auvergne players Rabah Slimani, Folau Fainga’a and winger Alivereti Raka were bombarded with offensive messages following a defeat.

Reports from the local newspaper La Montagne indicated that Raka considered quitting professional rugby and returning to Fiji due to the distress caused by the abuse.

The surge in cyber harassment incidents has now prompted Provale to establish this dedicated unit despite the significant operational cost.

This isn’t the first occurrence of such issues at Clermont. Over a year ago similar problems arose after a loss to Toulouse. The club had to reissue a press release highlighting the ongoing struggle against what they describe as unacceptable behaviour by a minority of so-called “fans”.

🚨 STOP AU CYBER-HARCÈLEMENT 🚨

🔸 Un formulaire est disponible, pour les joueurs et joueuses, sur notre site internet, pour signaler tout acte de cyber-harcèlement : https://t.co/t26JxbiaKZ

🗣 Notre service réseau reste disponible à tout moment pour répondre à vos questions. pic.twitter.com/uK8fyuByDL

— Provale (@ProvaleRugby) April 10, 2024

Provale’s initiative aims to address and curb the trend by providing affected players a means to seek assistance and hold perpetrators accountable.

There were issues at the Rugby World Cup in France, with World Rugby software ultimately leading to the first-ever prosecution of a fan in Australia.

World Rugby’s online abuse program used the Threat Matrix service to identify and penalise an individual in Australia who harassed a referee. A 22-year-old – originally from New Zealand – was fined 1,000 Australian dollars but escaped a criminal record.

“World Rugby welcomes this landmark outcome,” said World Rugby Chief Executive Alan Gilpin. “The vile and toxic abuse is an all too common occurrence for many sports men and women and public figures, and we hope that this sends a very strong message to online trolls that such behaviour is totally unacceptable and that the sport and the authorities are prepared to take action.”

The trolling and persecution that match officials are subjected to came into the spotlight earlier this year with World Rugby’s Whistleblowers documentary, which chronicled their experiences during the World Cup.

Since the World Cup, Wayne Barnes retired from refereeing after taking charge of the final, while TMO Tom Foley stood down from international duty citing “the pressure and scrutiny I came under after the Rugby World Cup Final, along with a torrent of criticism and abuse online,” as a the driving force behind his decision. Mathieu Raynal is also set to retire at the end of the season.