Football has always been intense. Rivalry, noise and loyalty are part of its culture. But in an age shaped by online extremism, polarisation and increasingly unfiltered abuse, that intensity can tip into something more corrosive – behaviour that begins to push people away from the game.
The Football Safety App was developed in response to that shift. Its purpose is straightforward: to give fans, players and staff a practical way to report discrimination, abuse and safety concerns wherever they occur – in stadiums, on public transport, online, or in the spaces around matchday.
As Emile Heskey, Director of the Football Safety App, puts it:
“It’s time we all take responsibility – to stand up, speak out, and protect the sport that unites us all.”
From Reporting to Response
Unlike generic reporting platforms, the Football Safety App is built specifically for football. Users can report racism, offensive language, physical abuse, online hate crime, travel-related harassment and wider safety concerns through a single, accessible interface. Reports are routed to a central hub of trained professionals who work directly with clubs, stadium teams and police where appropriate. The objective is not simply to record incidents, but to enable timely, proportionate responses.
More than 5,000 reports of online abuse have already been submitted, alongside an 18% increase in reported match incidents. Rather than indicating rising disorder, the figures suggest growing confidence that reporting leads to action. With 11.8 million players and 55 million fans across the UK, football remains one of the country’s most visible shared spaces. What happens within it carries weight far beyond the final whistle.
Why This Became Personal
Support from the Premier League has helped establish the Football Safety App as a credible safeguard across both the professional and grassroots game. But its authority is shaped just as much by personal experience.
Heskey has spoken openly about how abuse followed him throughout his playing career, long before social media amplified its reach. What has changed, he argues, is how unavoidable it has become – no longer confined to stadiums or headlines, but reaching into homes, phones and family life.
That reality has shaped his perspective as a parent. Heskey has said that the environment around the modern game became so normalised that he never actively encouraged his own children to pursue professional careers – not because of football itself, but because of what increasingly surrounds it.
“Football has given me everything – a career, friendships, unforgettable memories,” he says.
“But it’s also shown me how damaging abuse, especially online, can be for players, fans and families.”
That concern extends beyond elite players. Matchday travel, in particular, has become an overlooked flashpoint, where abuse often spills into public transport and affects families, commuters and staff with no connection to the game itself.
The operational value of the app is understood by those responsible for managing safety on the ground. Kul, Director of Safeguarding for the Football Safety App, spent more than three decades in policing, including serving as a Football Match Commander.
“In my 32 years in policing, football was a constant,” he says.
“I saw first-hand how the actions of a small minority affected the majority.”
From an operational perspective, he argues that real-time intelligence from supporters and on-the-ground staff could significantly improve decision-making.
“An app providing live information would have informed deployment and intervention far more effectively,” he explains.
“That’s why I see the Football Safety App as one of the most meaningful changes to football policing in recent years.”
Accountability Without Policing the Stands
Crucially, the app does not attempt to suppress football’s competitive edge. It draws a clear distinction between rivalry – which the game depends on – and abuse, which it does not. Users are provided with guidance on where that line sits, removing ambiguity and lowering the barrier to speaking up.
Supporters are not asked to confront one another. Responsibility is shifted away from those on the receiving end of abuse and placed on the behaviour itself.
“The Football Safety App isn’t about silencing rivalry,” Heskey says.
“It’s about restoring respect. We want accountability for those who use football as a platform for hate, and protection for those who simply love the game.”
The app does not claim to solve football’s cultural problems on its own. Instead, it provides the infrastructure that accountability requires – making it easier to report abuse than to ignore it.
By linking real-time reporting with professional oversight and enforcement, the Football Safety App turns concern into action. In doing so, it reinforces a simple idea: football should remain a space people want to be part of.
Learn more about the Football Safety App here.
