There has been a huge rise in the number of reports of sexist behaviour in football, with cases of sexual discrimination and harassment targeting high-profile women in the game rising by almost 400%.

The data was compiled by Women in Football, which said the results were “of great concern, but sadly, not a great surprise”. The gender equality pressure group received a total of 271 reports of incidents during the 2017-18 season, with the alleged abuse happening across clubs, organisations and online.

Comments of a sexual nature, racist or gendered remarks and threats of violence were reportedly made to several prominent women in football, including players, referees, journalists and broadcasters. Alleged abuse on social media saw the biggest rise in complaints, with an increase of more than 285%.

A spokeswoman from Women in Football said that the group “regularly” supports women facing discrimination and sexual harassment in the workplace, and described the new figures as “just the tip of the iceberg”.

“For every offensive tweet or comment posted and reported to us, there are dozens that aren’t,” she said.

As well as social media abuse, women working in football also had to contend with sexist abuse, discrimination and sexual harassment on match days: reported incidents on days when women’s teams were playing rose by 133.3%. Workplace incidents were also up by 112.5%.

The rising levels of abuse in women's football