Three Black Dutch players missed penalties against Morocco in a World Cup knockout match. What followed was a torrent of racist abuse so severe that all three shut down their social media accounts.
Justin Kluivert, Quinten Timber, and Crysencio Summerville became targets of coordinated online hate after the Netherlands lost 3-2 on penalties to Morocco in the round of 32 on June 29. The match itself ended 1-1 after extra time.
The scale of the problem
FIFA’s Social Media Protection Service, known as SMPS, scanned over six million social media posts during the tournament. The findings were grim: tens of thousands of posts were flagged as abusive, and more than 100 crossed the threshold for potential legal action.
The Royal Dutch Football Association, or KNVB, called the abuse “appalling” in statements released on June 30 and July 1. The organization said it would report the incidents to Dutch authorities, including Meld Online Discriminatie, a platform dedicated to tracking online discrimination in the Netherlands.
