Dutch players who missed penalties during Monday’s World Cup shootout defeat to Morocco were racially abused online, the Dutch Football Association (KNVB) said on Tuesday.
Justin Kluivert, Quinten Timber and Crysencio Summerville all failed to convert in the shootout as Morocco went 3-2 ahead of the Netherlands on penalties after their last 32 match in Monterrey ended 1-1 after extra time. The trio subsequently became the target of discriminatory, racist and hateful comments on social media, the KNVB said.
“We find this terrible and will report it to the Report Online Discrimination.
«Once a report has been made, their legal staff will assess whether the statement is punishable. This may lead to a formal complaint being filed with the Public Prosecution Service, which can then start a criminal investigation,» the KNVB said.
It is not the first time players have faced racist abuse online after missing penalties during a major tournament.
England’s Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka and Jadon Sancho were targeted after the team’s defeat to Italy in the UEFA Euro 2020 final, played in 2021, which led to two people being jailed and another given a suspended sentence.
In the weeks after the tournament, British police arrested several people as part of a wider crackdown on online hate speech directed at the players.
«Football brings millions of different people together, while discrimination does exactly the opposite. So it goes against everything football stands for,» said the KNVB.
Published on July 1, 2026
