“If I turn off my phone, they don’t exist,” the West Ham defender Hawa Cissoko says of the racist online trolls who have bombarded her social media accounts. That is her solution, to switch off and ignore, but she thinks social media companies need to do more to protect players from racist abuse. “I know that some people send messages because they know that nothing is going to happen even if you tell them you’re going to the police,” she says. “They know nothing will happen. We need more security … I don’t know how they can do it.” On 15 October last year, Cissoko clashed with Aston Villa’s Sarah Mayling, there was pushing between the pair and Cissoko struck Mayling across the face. She was sent off and Mayling received a yellow card. Cissoko apologised, saying there was “no excuse”, and was given a two-match ban and £200 fine by the Football Association. On social media she was bombarded with abuse, including racist abuse. Cissoko says she was “surprised” by the level of vilification. “It’s not that I thought the men were lying or that it wasn’t happening to them, but it never happens in women’s football, or maybe if it did then the women were quiet [and didn’t make it public],” says the 26-year-old France international. “I didn’t expect it would happen to me, especially when the people that did it don’t even watch our games. If it was from people who follow the league, I would understand a little bit more, but when it was from not even French or English people I was like: ‘You should focus on your own business.’ I realised: OK, some people are just racist and they just find every opportunity to be racist and say whatever they want. “When I understood this, it was easier to deal with, because at the beginning you take things personally, you think they don’t like you when they see you every week – ‘They hate me’ – but when I realised it was outside of WSL fans I thought: ‘I don’t care.’” Cissoko got through that period by focusing on the people whose opinions matter most to her. “It’s hard. But it depends on who you have around you. If you have nice teammates and your manager supports you and shows you love, respect and the support you need then it is easier. Obviously, I have my family as well. “On social media I just ignore people because it is not real. Those people, they can say a lot of things on social media but if they met me, they would never say this because they would see I am actually a human with a heart and feelings. If I turn off my phone, they don’t exist. The most important thing is the relationships I have with my teammates, my coach and my family.” Cissoko picked up three yellow cards alongside that red last season and in the 2021-22 campaign she collected five yellows, with two of those coming in one game and leading to a sending-off, and one other red. In isolation that may sound high but last season she was in 26th place in the WSL for most bookings received and 61st for fouls committed. For the 2021-22 season, she was sixth for most yellow cards received and 16th in terms of fouls committed. Despite being far from a consistent offender, Cissoko feels she is judged more harshly by referees. “If I am 100% honest, yes, I think some people have made a picture around me as a player that I am aggressive and stuff like that,” she says. “But if you look, I think I do fewer fouls than any other defender. Sometimes I finish games and I haven’t made a foul. To take my red card against Tottenham, it was two yellow cards. The first one was a mistake from the referee, that is fine. The second one was for kicking the ball [away]. She gave a free-kick, and we were not back to defend, we just want to go back to our box and she gives me the second yellow. “The first red card I got here was a red card for a handball, but it wasn’t a handball, it was a mistake from the referee. The one against Aston Villa, that is a red card, that is fair, but the other player only got a yellow card and I think she started it so should have a second yellow card. I think if it was the opposite, me instead of her, I would have been sent off. People have this picture of me, but it is not true; I am calm, I can be calm on the pitch.” Cissoko can’t see a way to change the narrative of her being considered an aggressive player. “If I want to change the picture I have to change my game and if I change the way I play, I won’t be good,” she says. “I’m fast, I’m strong and I’m powerful. If I stop being me, West Ham are going to rip up my contract and I will be playing Sunday League. I have to stay me. “Maybe if I could speak to them [referees], say how I feel, they will understand and maybe things can change. I was given a yellow card before and for me it wasn’t a yellow. I went to her [the ref] and I said: ‘Now I can’t defend. The next tackle I do you are going to give me another yellow card so now you ruin my game.’” The key could be communication, she says. “I think we just need to speak to them. I will understand them more if I speak to them and they will understand more.” Do fans need to give more consideration to the fact that footballers and referees are human, too? “It would change everything,” she says. “I am going to tell you a secret. As players, everyone wants to be a journalist or a coach, but I think after my career I would like to become a referee. Maybe I need to start learning with the under 15s and go to their games and referee; maybe it will change my mind [perspective]. No top-level player in the men’s or women’s game has become a referee. Maybe I can be the first one.”