Location: Spain, Madrid
Date: May 1, 2023

Real Madrid soccer fans harass two women sports journalists with abusive comments online. Trolls threaten María Moran with rape and bombard María Tikas with sexist insults. The Coalition For Women In Journalism condemns the targeting of female sports journalists. Real Madrid must strongly denounce the misogynistic behavior of its fans. 

“These are some of the many comments that I am receiving for carrying out my work as a journalist,” wrote María Moran, sharing screenshots of vile abuse she received from online trolls on May 1, 2023.

Messages she shared threaten Moran with rape, calling her a prostitute and her 18-month-old daughter a b******.

One comment shared by Moran says the journalist should be raped to teach her to stop dressing like a “b****”.

The sports reporter for GoITV reported the threats to the police.

Moran began receiving messages after a video went viral of her questioning the Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti at a press conference.

A Real Madrid fan account on Twitter with hundreds of thousands of followers shared the clip of Moran’s question, and the journalist awoke the next day to hundreds of aggressive comments. 

Harassment Of María Tikas

On April 18, a sports journalist for Diario Sport, María Tikas, revealed she received a wave of sexist insults after she criticized a Real Madrid video on Twitter. 

Commenters called Tikas vulgar names, told her to “shut up,” and mocked her for being a female sports journalist. Tikas shared screenshots of the insults with her followers. 

Sexist Attacks On Women Sports Journalists In Spain

Fellow sports journalists and a local journalist organization denounced the attacks on Moran and Tikas, highlighting the sexist nature of the abuse they received.

In 2021, María Tikas and fourteen other journalists launched a campaign to highlight the misogynistic behavior of Spanish sports fans toward women journalists.

"They do not conceive of us as subjects to listen, value or look up to," said journalist Marta Ramon explaining the campaign, "they do not consider us equal, nor do they give us any credibility or authority."

The “Enough” campaign featured female journalists repeatedly harassed online for reporting on sports. 

Following the threats against María Moran, news outlet El Diario reported that women sports journalists covering soccer in Spain are frequent targets of trolls. 

Veteran sports journalist Paloma del Río said women covering sports events experience harassment their male colleagues do not. Unlike their male counterparts, football fans often dissect their professionalism, appearance, and personal relationships.

“You may think that María Morán's question could have been posed in another way, but the lack of respect she has received is inadmissible; many (comments) border on crime,” said del Río. 

Soccer Clubs Must Act

With millions of fans, soccer clubs like Real Madrid must acknowledge their fans' misogynistic behavior toward women sports journalists. 

Well-known soccer players and teams are role models for many worldwide. Their voices have power. Enacting a campaign to combat fans’ misogynistic behavior and sexist commentary toward female journalists is needed. 

The Coalition For Women In Journalism calls on Real Madrid to vehemently condemn the harassment of María Moran and María Tikas. Female sports journalists must be able to do their job and comment on sports without fearing an onslaught of hateful abuse.

The Coalition For Women In Journalism is a global organization of support for women journalists. The CFWIJ pioneered mentorship for mid-career women journalists across several countries around the world and is the first organization to focus on the status of free press for women journalists. We thoroughly document cases of any form of abuse against women in any part of the globe. Our system of individuals and organizations brings together the experience and mentorship necessary to help female career journalists navigate the industry. Our goal is to help develop a strong mechanism where women journalists can work safely and thrive.

If you have been harassed or abused in any way, and please report the incident by using the following form.