Soccer superstar Christiano Ronaldo received more online abuse than any other EPL player last year.
Anybody who has been targeted on Twitter understands the psychological impact it can have. Just imagine being a polarizing figure like Manchester United player Christiano Ronaldo.
Back after being rejected by all UCL teams. You had no other option Boss.
— Lawyer (@UGlawyer) July 31, 2022
British media regulator Ofcom analyzed 2.3 million tweets in the first half of last season. Ofcom detected 60,000 abusive posts that affected top-flight players.
Ronaldo is an easy target for internet trolls. Widely known as one of the greatest players to ever step on the pitch, soccer supporters jump at any opportunity to take a shot at the Portuguese European champion.
Ofcom’s study showed that Ronaldo suffered the most abuse on August 27, 2021, when he rejoined ManU. 188,769 tweets were sent to Ronaldo that day, three times more than any other day. 3,961 were abusive. Though only a small percentage of tweets were found to be offensive, the final number is still astronomical.
Ronaldo's last game in a Manchester shirt pic.twitter.com/yiZGiFYlqX
— دحوم #41 (@d7oo_8) August 27, 2021
It’s not surprising that Ronaldo receives so much online abuse. Plenty of other high-profile athletes across all sports are experiencing online abuse. LeBron James, Tom Brady, and Kevin Durant are constantly under the microscope, and internet trolls are just waiting to spew negativity about them.
Twitter informed Britain’s PA news agency that it has removed more than 38,000 abusive tweets. Twitter also said it is committed to combating abuse and does not tolerate harassment.
