"Things became increasingly toxic." That's how a popular anonymous soccer fan named Freddy described the reason he vanished from social media for two weeks — and his story sits alongside something far darker involving the actual players on the pitch.
Freddy built a fanbase around the game while keeping his identity hidden. That anonymity became a target. A dedicated Reddit community formed with the sole purpose of digging through his account history and exposing who he is. He didn't break any rules. He shared opinions about football. That was enough to make his online life unlivable.
He's back now, ahead of the World Cup semifinals, pulled in by the support of followers who wanted him to return. But the fact that someone covering soccer as a fan — not a player, not a pundit on salary — had to deactivate their account over harassment says something about where these online spaces have gone.
Sørloth took the worst of it
What Freddy experienced is uncomfortable. What Alexander Sørloth experienced after Norway's 2-1 quarterfinal loss to England is something else entirely.
Norway led 1-0 and had a 2-on-1 counterattack — Sørloth ignored Haaland, shot straight at John Stones, and England equalized in first-half stoppage time. They struck again in extra time. Norway were out. The what-ifs write themselves.
Over 100,000 hate comments and death threats followed. Directed at Sørloth. Directed at his partner, Lena Selnes, who had nothing to do with any of it. One poor decision in a quarterfinal — one that cost Norway, yes, but one that also came from a player trying to win the game — turned into a coordinated campaign of abuse.
Sørloth isn't alone in this tournament. Colombia's Jáminton Campaz missed a golden chance against Switzerland in the Round of 16. Colombia lost on penalties. Campaz said he was afraid to go home because of the threats against him and his family. The Colombian federation condemned it. That condemnation, while right, changes nothing for Campaz or the people he's worried about protecting.
The pattern is clear
These aren't isolated incidents. Every tournament produces them. A miss, a red card, a substitution that goes wrong — and the abuse follows like clockwork. The anonymity of the internet makes it easier. The emotional stakes of a World Cup make people feel entitled to it.
What's striking about this World Cup specifically is the scale: 100,000 messages to one player. A dedicated doxxing operation against a fan. A striker scared to return to his own country. The football is genuinely brilliant this summer. The reaction from a vocal segment of the audience watching it is genuinely not.
Freddy came back because his followers outnumbered the bad actors. Sørloth and Campaz don't get to log off from the consequences the same way.
