Kick It Out calls for tougher sanctions as football discrimination reaches new high

Anti-discrimination body Kick It Out has recorded 1,255 incidents of discrimination across all levels of English football in the 2025-26 season, marking a record high. The organisation's chief executive is calling for tougher sanctions to combat the rising number of incidents. Kick It Out, which was originally founded in 1993 as 'Let's Kick Racism Out of Football', says current punishments are insufficient to deter discriminatory behaviour.