That’s the same whether on or off the pitch, at the training ground or in the stands. We are committed to use our influence to end discrimination in football. As such, we take any news of discrimination in football extremely seriously. If you tell us about something, we will act promptly and respond appropriately. 

Using our influence we can put an end to discrimination in football

What counts as discrimination?

Discriminatory abuse can be a negative reference to any or more of the following ‘protected characteristics’ covered by the Equality Act 2010:

- Age
- Disability
- Gender reassignment
- Marriage and civil partnership
- Pregnancy and maternity
- Race
- Religion and belief
- Sex (gender)
- Sexual orientation

Last season we had over 2000 people like you on this page wanting to report an aggravated grassroots football incident and wondering if this is the right thing to do. Fortunately, many did and that gave us opportunities to challenge this behaviour and educate participants.

One of our main objectives at The FA is to make the game free from discrimination and we can’t do this alone. We rely on people like you taking the time to report incidents and for that we want to say thank you.

This year, following a joint research piece with Kick It Out, we discovered that some people in our football community are not willing to report such incidents. Non-reporting makes it harder to reach this objective and we strongly encourage you to report any incident that you feel should be investigated. When we investigate incidents, we will raise a charge if we feel that there is sufficient evidence that, on the balance of probability, an offence occurred.  Over 60% of charges lead to a proven outcome with resulting sanctions against the offending party.

We have put together the form below for you to complete and detail the incident that you would like to report. This is a comprehensive form to ensure we have all the information we need to investigate this thoroughly and to capture this information as close to the incident as possible whilst memories are fresh.  This allows us the best chance of success in investigating the incident and potentially raising a charge.

You may of course not wish to seek disciplinary action and charges.  If that is the case, please tell us what your preferred outcome is.  Even if that is the case, capturing the incident is important.

Some of the fields are mandatory and these are indicated with a red Asterix *

When you are detailing the incident, it is important that you give us the words used in full - as unsavoury as this maybe, - as well need to ensure there is no opportunity for misinterpretation.

Forms are not for everyone, and we understand that, if you have difficulties with forms, we will be able to offer you other ways to report the incident.  Please contact your County FA and speak with the discipline team to find out how we can accommodate you.  A list of County FA contact numbers can be found here.

Thank you once again for helping us make our game FOR ALL.

To recap there are three options available:

- To tell us as much as you can about a specific incident so we can investigate and potentially raise a charge

- Anonymously inform us of something so that we are made aware of it

- Inform us of something you are concerned about, and we will contact you to discuss further, so you can understand your options

If you’ve been a victim of discrimination, or you’ve witnessed somebody else being a victim of discrimination, please report it here. You’ll be asked to provide your details, along with details of the incident including who was involved, and where the incident occurred.

Alternatively, you can also report it on the Kick It Out website.

We act.
Once you’ve filled in the online report form on the England Football website and submitted it, the central FA team will share the case with the local CFA and oversee the process.

A CFA investigation then takes place. The evidence will be reviewed and a charge, if one is made, will be determined.

We’ll tackle it.
If a charge is made by the CFA, a disciplinary commission appointed by The FA will review the case.

The alleged offender will be asked for a response to the allegation, and all identified witnesses will be asked to make a statement too.

Once the disciplinary commission have completed the hearing, the offence is either proven or not proven. Any outcome would be subject to appeal.