In a powerful letter, FIA president Mohammad Ben Sulayem condemned the online abuse of F1 and stressed the need for “respect” in the sport. Commenting on the recent death threats she received, Sylvia Bellot, one of the FIA’s female directors, in an unusually powerful letter, described how the abuse had progressed over the years. Ben Sulayem urged the entire motorsport ecosystem to take a stand and not ignore the abuses. he wrote:
“Sports thrives, but online bullying, harassment and hate cannot be tolerated. Everyone in our sport has a role to play in the media, teams, drivers and fans. We cannot ignore it. I urge the entire motorsport ecosystem to take a stand. we must shout must be stopped.”
In the letter, Ben Sulayem said the following about Sylvia Bellot’s death threat:
“Recently, Silvia Bellotti, one of the female FIA stewards, received death threats. It is very sad that a volunteer like Silvia or one of our Marshalls and officials gave her permission to go to the race voluntarily. This is the object of such hatred. In fact, some FIA officials have also been the subject of threats and inflammatory speeches in recent years.”
As for why the FIA did not make such a statement with F1, the president said it was the result of an attack on the FIA and that he would always support them. He said:
the president said:
“I always support the staff and volunteers. Let me be clear. Without these people, there would be no competition. You have to ask who aspires to high office in this environment. The truth is if this continues it will destroy our sport. As a referee and president, you expect people to disagree with the decisions you make. However, these views and opinions can be respected. This is becoming increasingly rare. Muhammad ben Sulayam’s letter was not just a condemnation of what happened. Instead, the letter states that the FIA has taken specific steps to address the incident online. The steps include:
We contributed by engaging with social media platforms and began working with governments and other sport management agencies to make a strong commitment to collective action. We conduct research into digital hate and harmful comments on sport through the FIA University. It provides a platform to share knowledge, information and prevention. Working with Arwen.ai, we use AI software to identify and remove objectionable content from our channels.