ISTANBUL

FIFA is deploying a special service to protect thousands of online accounts from abuse and harassment, the world football body said Saturday.

"FIFA is fully committed to addressing all forms of discrimination, and we continue to invest in the Social Media Protection Service to achieve the widest possible coverage across multiple platforms,” said Gianni Infantino, FIFA’s president.

"This is why access to the service is now available at all times to all 211 FIFA Member Associations, as it ensures protective measures are in place for them regardless of whether their teams qualify for FIFA tournaments or not," he added.

FIFA confirmed that the service protects over 12,300 accounts covering more than 6,300 individual players, coaches, and sports officials from 387 participating teams who have played in 18 global and/or continental tournaments.

Since its launch, the program has scanned 31.2 million posts and hidden 6.4 million harmful posts, reporting over 35,500 offensive comments to relevant social media platforms for further action.