I used to think that players had a responsibility to not rise to the abuse they get from fans but I've changed my mind in recent years. Football fans have got much, much worse. It used to be that you'd boo a player who left under bad circumstances; we'd boo Scott Parker or Jermain Defoe, we wouldn't bother booing Luke Young or Jerome Thomas if we saw them again. Now though, any player leaves, whether it's because they wanted the move or we released them, they'll get booed every time they get the ball, just for the crime of once playing for a club. Then after the game players go home and come back to abuse on Twitter or elsewhere if they've scored or won a tackle the opposition didn't like or got injured and stayed down too long. There's not really a good place to escape abuse for players now other than switching off from the world completely, and innocuous players get far more grief from fans than they desrve. Lucas Digne got booed on his return to Everton, a club he loved, because he left after being forced out by a manager that the fans also hated. Booed nonetheless, then had a bottle thrown at him for the crime of being happy about a goal. As far as I'm concerned, players can give it back to the fans as much as they want given the level of toxicity those fans are giving out. If fans don't want players to bite back then they'll need to stop goading them in every second of every day. Call it a compromise.
Agree with every word.
I recall that Scott Wagstaff got booed when he came back to The Valley with AFC Wimbledon a couple of years ago.
If you’d have asked the numbskulls why exactly he was being booed then they’d have struggled to come up with a logical answer.
The thing about players celebrating, is that it's spontaneous, and if it's at an away ground, there's a 50% chance that they'll be at the wrong end to their fans.
Chuks scores on Monday at the Fratton End. Yes it would be wrong to taunt the home fans, but similarly you have to expect the players to celebrate where they are, which is down the home end. You can hardly expect them to have to run back to the away end before celebrating.
Even worse, at Newcastle and Sunderland, the away fans are up in the gods, so the players will have to celebrate in front of some home fans.
As someone who ran my sons Sunday team for years he was by far the best referee we had in 10 years reffed numerous times and was brilliant everytime firm but fair with players and coaching staff.
Happened to listen tonight to four kids tonight who all seemed like Jay from the Inbetweeners.
They had managed to get themselves right in the middle of it, the West Brom fella took a hiding, and the bloke next to them had his head caked by a police baton.
But the best of all was that a fella one of them knew had to quickly do 16 grams of coke up his nose before the game because there was a sniffer dog coming!
Happened to listen tonight to four kids tonight who all seemed like Jay from the Inbetweeners.
They had managed to get themselves right in the middle of it, the West Brom fella took a hiding, and the bloke next to them had his head caked by a police baton.
But the best of all was that a fella one of them knew had to quickly do 16 grams of coke up his nose before the game because there was a sniffer dog coming!
Heard a story which happened very recently. Someone was doing coke in the toilet on the train. Mate decided to think it was funny and knock on the door and say it was the Transport Police. Bloke did the whole lot then and there. Very frosty reception after it.
A Rotherham fan runs on the pitch as Accrington are about to take a penalty, boots the ball away from the spot and hits Harry Pell, although it was more of a jump into him than a punch or anything.
Morecambe v Bolton is held up for 10 minutes after Bolton's manager takes his players off the pitch after reporting racist abuse towards staff and players on the bench. He also claims after the game that some players were spat at.
Leicester fan ran on and attacked the Forest players today. Some people have lost their minds since the pandemic started and these people need to be dealt with swiftly and harshly before we start to return to the 1970's.
I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s Russian/Chinese disinformation people posing as football fans on Twitter and trying to toxify the communities. This combined by complete disregard for basic rules at the top of government means people wonder why the rules apply to them too.
I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s Russian/Chinese disinformation people posing as football fans on Twitter and trying to toxify the communities. This combined by complete disregard for basic rules at the top of government means people wonder why the rules apply to them too.
That's a long stretch.
British people, some of them anyway, have been more than capable of acting like dickheads after a few drinks for centuries.
Leicester fan ran on and attacked the Forest players today. Some people have lost their minds since the pandemic started and these people need to be dealt with swiftly and harshly before we start to return to the 1970's.
Leicester fan ran on and attacked the Forest players today. Some people have lost their minds since the pandemic started and these people need to be dealt with swiftly and harshly before we start to return to the 1970's.
Returning back to those days will never happen.
Agreed, perspective needed.
Few pricks with moments of madness. He’ll do time for that so will certainly be punished, as will those at LB, probably disproportionately compared to if they did it in another environment
Social media highlights every incident at every ground/pub like never before, but we’re not even close to the bad/good old days thankfully.
Leicester fan ran on and attacked the Forest players today. Some people have lost their minds since the pandemic started and these people need to be dealt with swiftly and harshly before we start to return to the 1970's.
Returning back to those days will never happen.
Agreed, context needed.
Few pricks with moments of madness. He’ll do time for that so will certainly be punished, as will those at LB, probably disproportionately compared to if they did it in another environment
Social media highlights every incident at every ground/pub like never before, but we’re not even close to the bad/good old days thankfully.
We are not, you are right.
But we need to keep calling it out, keep seeing how we can improve and keep handing out the strongest of punishments to those that do let the rest of their club down.
This is starting to happen more often and needs clamping down on.
Leicester fan ran on and attacked the Forest players today. Some people have lost their minds since the pandemic started and these people need to be dealt with swiftly and harshly before we start to return to the 1970's.
Agreed
I think we're starting to almost get used to it now, fans throwing things at the players and officials, or running onto the pitch to confront them them, whereas if any of these incidents had happened before 2020 they would have been a major story
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Chuks scores on Monday at the Fratton End. Yes it would be wrong to taunt the home fans, but similarly you have to expect the players to celebrate where they are, which is down the home end. You can hardly expect them to have to run back to the away end before celebrating.
Even worse, at Newcastle and Sunderland, the away fans are up in the gods, so the players will have to celebrate in front of some home fans.
That video is brilliant.
Ffs, what is wrong with football fans these days?
It’s just childish & pathetic.
I always thought we were better than that.
Just need clarification of what is acceptable.
Nothing- it was merely physical assault. He hadn't said or sung anything offensive.
A Rotherham fan runs on the pitch as Accrington are about to take a penalty, boots the ball away from the spot and hits Harry Pell, although it was more of a jump into him than a punch or anything.
Morecambe v Bolton is held up for 10 minutes after Bolton's manager takes his players off the pitch after reporting racist abuse towards staff and players on the bench. He also claims after the game that some players were spat at.
Some people have lost their minds since the pandemic started and these people need to be dealt with swiftly and harshly before we start to return to the 1970's.
British people, some of them anyway, have been more than capable of acting like dickheads after a few drinks for centuries.
We don't need any outside help.
Few pricks with moments of madness. He’ll do time for that so will certainly be punished, as will those at LB, probably disproportionately compared to if they did it in another environment
Social media highlights every incident at every ground/pub like never before, but we’re not even close to the bad/good old days thankfully.
But we need to keep calling it out, keep seeing how we can improve and keep handing out the strongest of punishments to those that do let the rest of their club down.
This is starting to happen more often and needs clamping down on.
I think we're starting to almost get used to it now, fans throwing things at the players and officials, or running onto the pitch to confront them them, whereas if any of these incidents had happened before 2020 they would have been a major story