Bernd Leno says he has learnt to ignore social media abuse ever since someone told him to ‘do it like Enke’ following a bad performance while he still played in Germany.
Robert Enke, a close friend of Per Mertesacker, played in goal for Hannover, Benfica, Borussia Moenchengladbach and Barcelona before taking his own life at the age of 32 following a long-standing struggle with depression.
The Germany international’s death in 2009 sent shockwaves around the sport and has since led to the founding of the Robert Enke Foundation, a charity that deals primarily with the mental health of players.
Citing the example, Leno made clear that in good times and bad he stays offline knowing full well there are ‘so many stupid people’ eager to drag him down.
“Of course I have a lot of experience with that, here and also in Germany. There was one thing that kept in my mind, it was crazy,” Leno told Sky Sports News.
“I had a very bad game and then one guy on social media said to me ‘do it like Enke’.
“Since I read this I realise that there are so many stupid people on social media. That is the reason I don’t read it even when everything is good. I don’t need that, it doesn’t make me better, it is wasting time.
“There are so many fake people that hide behind their computers to make you feel bad. Many times with racism, abuse to families, I don’t like it, I don’t read it. It affects your life, what is the point?”
Leno’s revelation comes on the same day that a study revealed Granit Xhaka was the subject of horrific abuse, including racial abuse by some purported Arsenal season ticket holders, during a 30-day period either side of his red card against Burnley in December.
Analysis by Signify, a data science company, also highlighted homophobic abuse aimed at Hector Bellerin after his support for the Rainbow Laces campaign, to promote equality, also in December.
Two weeks ago, the Premier League said tech companies “need to do more” to help battle online abuse. Since then pressure on social media platforms has continued to intensify.
In response to the report, an Arsenal spokesman said: “We all need to work together to drive online abuse out of our game and off our social networks.
“The effect on individuals can be very deep and we work closely with our players and staff to help them deal with the impact. This includes support from sports psychologists and our social media team.
“As a club, one of the biggest challenges we face is identifying the perpetrators and linking them directly to our season ticket or membership databases. When we do have that information, we take the strongest possible action. This includes reporting to the police and membership bans from our club.
“Ultimately we all have to work together to stop the abuse and we fully support the Premier League’s recent statement calling on social media platforms to take more action to prevent abuse appearing online, including requiring all users to be subject to a verification process.”
Yesterday, after growing toxicity in the comment section we published a reminder of the importance of courteous debate on Arseblog.
Please give it a read and take a moment to check out our comment policy.
Bernd Has given good advice for us all. We dont need it, it doesn’t make us better. Cheers Bernd and Blogs
The kid in Ireland getting off scott free after his abuse of Wrighty just shows you there’s no consequences for online abuse. Until that changes nothing will change.
As an Irishman, I found that embarrassing.
As a human being, I found that embarrassing
Fair point, well made.
We have a history of letting people off with a slap on the wrist that deserve so much more
Especially as they rolled out that ‘He comes from a good family’ bullshit which is so prevalent here.
As if it makes any fucking difference.
If he comes from a good family he should know better.
The use of the term “good family” is often not so subtle code for socio-economic status, geography of residence, and especially race. Agree that it’s a bullshit term, mostly used as an ingredient of social gravity—which is so light for those at the top as to be almost weightless, yet quite heavy for those at the bottom.
Well said. People just need to read a little literature on racism to learn how terms like “good family” and “he/she is a good person” is used to turn discussions away from the problems and make them an individual. As Ibram X Kendi puts it – as a black man his actions represent a racial group. Nothing he does positive or negative is about him. If a black individual invents a rocket ship, then it is described as how black people are now achieving in the sciences. If a white person does the same the individual is lauded for being… Read more »
If anything, that only reduces any possible mitigating circumstances.
I remember one time I read a report about some country where they tried to improve the police system. The police man stopped an over-speeding vehicle and the driver was given a $5 fine. But the driver insisted that he is a higher ranking officer so based on that the ticket was changed to $50. Because he was expected to be with higher sense of responsibility.
I felt so bad. How come someone can abuse Ian Wright? The Ian Wright. The one whose positive attitude and smile brings sunshine to the lives of millions around the world.
There’s legitimate criticism, where warranted, and there’s abuse. The former goes with the job, but the latter is totally unacceptable as AM said earlier in the month.
*MA (predictive text strikes again).
Where do you draw the line?
When criticism turns into abuse. Everyone knows where that line is.
Insults, anything not constructive is probably bad.
Wouldn’t that indict a considerable quantity of comments posted on these pages directed at players, manager, and fellow fans?
Yes, sadly it would.
How’s this (not my words):
“Criticism offers an opinion vs. (verbal) abuse makes you completely wrong and presents itself as completely right. Criticism can be thoughtless but has the intent of helping you improve vs. (verbal) abuse is always unkind and has the intent of hurting and belittling you.”
Interesting and concise!
As I asked another above, how much of what appears in the comments sections of Arseblog News would be found abusive under this distinction?
It’s important to draw a distinction between abuse & analysis as taking the view that someone isn’t doing a good job or fit for a particular system isn’t abusive. If I said that Arteta was failing at his job and the club needed to replace him, most rationale people would agree that’s not an abusive comment. That might not fit Biggle’s definition of “helping MA improve” but that doesn’t mean that it’s an invalid or abusive statement either. Comments that attack someone based on characteristics such as nationality, race, religion etc. are always abusive however. If I were to say… Read more »
Correct, but your criticism of Arteta is intended to help Arsenal improve, so I could still see that working in Biggles’ definition — if we want to push that further!
Given how liberally Arseblog uses the c-word i wonder if he’d be able to publish his own material?!?
Whhhhhaaaaaattt? No, I’ve never seen that word, or any suspect diction, in Blogs’ daily material. Never … I swear. 😉
yes… but it has to be acknowledge that both Maureen and Mike Dean are c…ts
Follow the live commentary if you wish to find that “some c**t off some c**t on”
I disagree that tech companies must do more to stop cyber bullying. They already do way too much censorship. If cyber bullying affects you, just put away social media. It’s not difficult. Certainly easier than avoiding a school yard bully. If you can’t put down Twitter even though you suffer from the abuse you receive there, perhaps you have bigger problems than the bullying?
Leno has the right idea. Seems xhaka and bellerin are holding up.
A bit of a strange angle to look at it, as if social media was like a gladiator fight, if you’re “weak”, then it’s the nature of these duels that you’re massacred. And according to you, rightfully so.
The gladiators didn’t sign up voluntarily.
I see your point but I think it’s the fact that people feel they have the power (and anonymity) to abuse others in any way is the real issue.
The feeling that you can get away with such disrespect means that you don’t have to face any consequences and that fuels the abuse. Maybe he threat of consequences can help reduce this behavior.
I agree Mikeh the censorship is just too much
If you use a platform to abuse someone, to be racist, to be sexist, to be homophobic, you should lose the right to use that platform if it contravenes their terms of service.
That’s not censorship, it’s maintaining acceptable standards.
Perfectly put.
Agreed. The problem is that some platforms are censoring individuals for their opinions when there is no abuse, because the opinion conflicts with a position the platform supports. The legality of either side of the censorship argument is way beyond my understanding, but it does smell.
I guess I’m not familiar with ‘opinion conflicts’ getting people banned. Most of the platforms booting people we hear about are for conspiracy theories (matters of fact, not opinion), racism/bigotry (hate speech, not opinions), and speech that stokes violence. The platforms, being privately owned and able to decide what they like, have decided that discourse is not good for their interests.
Every once in a while the Invisible Hand of the marketplace has to get up and slap someone -or a bunch of someones- up a bit to remind us all it’s still there.
And especially if you further abuse that platform by exploiting it’s offer of anonymity… adding cowardice to the abuse.
People have a right to exist on social media without fear of abuse or prejudice. If people shouted horrible things at you everytime you went outside, is it fair to expect you to never go out?
So, if you get bullied at school, stop going to school? Not sure that is the outcome we desire.
Moreover, for public figures and celebrities, which includes the subjects of the article above, like it or not, opinion of them is shaped on social media whether they read it or not — that will have an impact on them, in one way or another. Regular people like me can exist almost 100% free from it all, but these guys have their livelihoods directly impacted by fan behaviour and sentiment.
You have to go to school; you DON’T have to be on social media.
The brutal truth is that there’s only so much the police and the social media companies can do. A person in say, Panama, racially abusing someone in England may not be doing anything illegal. Laws vary greatly in different countries. The social media companies can shut down accounts, but the morons can simply create new ones.
The celebrities should either close their accounts or just grin and bear it.
Not a bad defence of bullying …
I’m interested in fact not fantasy. It is what it is.
Most of what you said is not factual, though. It’s an opinion based on ‘only so much can be done’ attitude. I’ve been guilty of being abusive on this site (I was drunk, but there’s always an excuse) – so I am now moderated. Something was done and I hope I will be able to learn from my mistake and not be an asshole in the future. No one else has to stop using this site due to my behaviour, which is how it should be. Throwing your arms up in the air claiming ‘oh, but it’s too hard a… Read more »
perfectly put
For one of the only times, I see where Fatgooner is coming from. Social media gives these insignificant wankers the anonymity they need to have the kind of reach and impact they could only have in their wet dreams just 10 years ago. There’s a difference between saying something stupid when drunk and being one of these arseholes. They don’t feel remorse, they feed off the suffering they cause, and because of the nature of social media it’s almost impossible to stop it. Of course when they can be caught they should be prosecuted for whatever crime they’ve commited. Leno… Read more »
I feel regardless of the reason why someone behaves poorly towards another – the victim should not be the one who has to pay a price (in this case, not use social media, no matter how trivial that might seem to others).
Just because something negative cannot be wiped out, doesn’t mean there shouldn’t be concerted effort to put a stop to it (which can only have a positive impact, even if it never goes away completely).
I guess having a debate about it shines a light on the issue, which can only be a good thing.
1: this site is not social media like Facebook etc.
2: you can get around moderation and even a ban by changing email I’d etc. Not that I’m advocating this.
3: what I said IS factual. Many countries in the world don’t have laws that can be used to prosecute racist/homophobic morons.
1 Same principle – massive social media sites have more resources than can be used to moderate/ban. 2 Therefore moderation and bans have an impact since extra steps have to be taken to act like a tool. Also, not always as easy as changing emails as bans can be applied based on IP. Bottom line, needs extra effort to continue to be insane. 3 The part regarding not all countries having the same law IS an obvious fact – you are correct. I said MOST of what you said in your OP is not factual, just your opinion based on… Read more »
Another lame free speech “advocate”. I’m sure Jack and Mark didn’t create their compan
Another lame free speech “advocate”. I’m sure Jack and Mark didn’t create their company for people to get bullied, abused, etc. No one stops anyone from saying whatever but imagine thinking there wouldn’t be consequences because of “free speech”. Some of you folks think diversity of thought/ideas means freedom to attack people online.
People have a right to come on social media without getting abused. Why should they “avoid” racists, xenophobes, etc on a platform that is clearly not catered to that??
Sorry, but this is not the solution. It just gives creedence to the bullies. Online abuse is no different to abuse in person. It’s the same behaviours and incredibly cowardly too. People should be able to enjoy online communities without feeling under threat from idiots.
Censorship? That’s not applicable here. The social media companies created their respective platforms. They establish terms of use that you agree to abide by when you sign onto those platforms. Either you abide by those terms or they reserve the right to kick you out. It’s that simple
That would be like telling someone to stop going to football matches because of the risk of being set upon by rival fan idiots spoiling for a row.
The problem is prevalent in all walks of society and needs to be addressed head on, not swept under the carpet.
If I join a social media platform that makes clear abusive behaviour is against their terms of service, I expect not to be run off the site due to abusive behaviour whilst those that break the rules get to stay on.
I would’ve thought that was fairly straightforward. That fact it’s apparently not, pretty much proves tech companies aren’t even doing the bare minimum.
Tell that to a 14yr old who desperately wants to feel accepted (or at least, included), with every one of his/her peers using a given social media platform.
The way they see it, to walk away from that slender thread of connection will only alienate them further… it’s a terrible dilemma for any kid.
There used to be a saying ‘don’t feed the trolls’ on the internet before. Now on social people feed trolls all the time. They’re just sad people vying for attention. Social media needs to do more to ban fake accounts but the line of censorship is an odd one because you’re asking tech companies to be the moral gatekeepers which can be objective (racial abuse, homophobia – easier stuff to police) and subjective or legitimate questions. On the subjective side the landscape can change quite quickly within society and not allowing discussions can make things worse so the balance is… Read more »
Mikeh you must see from the reaction to your post that you aren’t in tune. Respect is universal, judgment is sinful. One person’s unconscionable vice is another’s lifestyle choice. Standards don’t exist outside the mind of the prejudiced holder of such antiquated notions.
So goes the theory, anyway. Upon first contact with reality everyone knows, deep down, there is an irreconcilable, head-poundingly obvious difference between good and bad, beautiful and ugly, high and low.
Footballers aren’t the sharpest knifes in the box & on social media act like magnets & attract like minded blunt knives.
‘… way too much censorship…’ is an interesting stance to take; care to elaborate on this statement, please?
I am absolutely against any kind of abuse, but xhaka can fuck off wherever, just so he’s not at arsenal. When he leaves (and willian) we can start being a proper football club again.
Xhaka has not been bad. He’s played well lately. When we get rid of know it all fans who want to be managers or directors of football, with 0 experience or know how, we can start really being behind our football team.
Hopefully this summer along with arteta
This is kinda the point though. He’s a guy. Even if he was the most horrendously shit player of all time or the best, that should have zero bearing on abusive behaviour.
It’s just wrong, there’s no good reason for it. Anyone who gets angry enough at someone for the way they play a game where you kick a ball with your feet needs to take a step back and re-evaluate.
*angry enough to send abuse
If Xhaka was signed as a £15m squad player, and not for £35m with the ‘next Xabi Alonso’ hype – and made captain after it’d become clear he wasn’t – he’d be quite popular with Arsenal fans
He’s not the player we need, but he was still our best and most reliable CM for a good couple of seasons. That’s the fault of various people in charge of building our squad, not him. He unfairly became representative of a pattern of larger failings higher up the chain
Yes, an inflated price tag (as in his case) almost always becomes a burden if overall performance doesn’t match the expectation that brings with it. There have, unfortunately, been several examples of that over recent years, but we won’t rehash those now. I agree that Xhaka has played better in recent seasons as you say but nevertheless he’s not what we need (or needed). His, and the other transfers, were in the hands of others of course but I think that we are still entitled to be critical where players don’t perform to an “acceptable” PL standard – which has… Read more »
Xhaka to be fair has been good lately But I am still not over the fact he did not apologize for disrespecting the shirt telling us fans to fk off and blaming his poor performance that day on the fans. When you have a bad game and get a booking and make stupid mistakes fans will get on your back. This is the way football is thats why they are fans if you can’t take abuse then you shouldn’t be a footballer. But reacting the way he did when we was substituted by Emery instead of jogging off he was… Read more »
Wow.
I think you missed the entire context of the article above. Xhaka was receiving vile abuse and mistreatment for weeks leading up to that event. It didn’t fucking start with that day. That day was a RESULT of this thick mentality of obsessively degrading other human beings online, or as part of the ‘safety of the crowd’.
I really don’t understand this depraved mobb mentality that seems so prevalent around the game that fans feel they have some kind of fucking divine right to abuse humans. It’s shite.
Don’t dish it out, if you can’t take it. Fans are free to criticise, and to a certain extend abuse players If you choose to give a player a bit of stick, don’t cry about when they tell you to f*ck off Nobody should be a punch bag for anyone I respect Xhaka for refusing to apologise, at least we know if he ever does apologies, that he actually means it I’d rather have no apology, than a fake one Maybe he could have apologised for walking slow off the pitch, but I’m not convinced he owed anyone an apology… Read more »
The person who said he or she wishes that Xhaka’s daughter dies of cancer should also apologize. It’s awful.
You think Xhaka’s on here to read your soliloquy?
Lol, it’s the never ending circle of nonsense.
“If only Stephanos/Cygan/Delnilson/Hleb/Song/Sanogo/Chamakh/Mustafi/Ozil/Xhaka/etc could f-off”
Smell the coffee, all clubs have their dud players, no player wakes up with the intention of being bad! Just grow up now.
I really like Granit Xhaka, he’s a good player that took the flak for Emery being a total idiot. Put him next to a decent player and look how good he’s been for us, he’s probably going to get a contract extension, we could do a lot worse.
“There are only two things I can’t stand in this world: People who are intolerant of other people’s cultures, and the Dutch” – Nigel Powers
To everyone, this is my opinion, and I see a guy who has never owned to any of his mistakes, and has never apologized for his behaviour when he absolutely needed to, as he wears the shirt we would all be so happy and humbled to wear (play for arsenal). For that reason, and for having brain farts on the level of mustafi, he is done for me as an arsenal player. I have a right to feel that way and it doesn’t mean I need to grow up or that I am a worse fan than anyone else. If… Read more »
Grow up Domi.
Hey Domi, It’s absolutely OK you not rating Xhaka as a player. What I (and clearly many others) don’t like is the growing amount of abuse that football players are receiving. Clearly it’s a major issue mentally affecting players of all backgrounds and Xhaka was a prime example. So when I see you say ‘Xhaka can fuck off’ it riles me up, because I reckon you’re one of those abusers – even if you’re not at threats-sending level. Maybe try to take a wider view of what’s going on in the world and not post such aggressively negative comments… Just… Read more »
I never posted any kind of post on any of the player’s accounts. Would never do that and don’t thiny opinion is that important that I should write there. Also, follow someone and then write negatively, kinda counterproductive. So how do you think I’m one of the abusers, I don’t know. My problem with xhaka is not taking responsibility for any of his actions, and constantly whining about the threats he received online, some of which have happened a year ago. Like he us immune to any kind of criticism because he received those threats. He plays the victim card… Read more »
What you wrote about Xhaka not owning his mistakes, disrespecting the club and generally being unreliable, completely spoke to me. I’m with you 100% in that he will never be a player I fully get behind despite the fact he is in excellent form. Just a word of advice that you can take or leave. Repeatedly telling people to “fuck off” is at best obnoxious and at worst offensive. As someone who gets told to fuck off fairly often because of the job I do I can assure you there is nothing anyone can say about me or my family… Read more »
Well, thanks. I guess I am just so fed up with him that I didn’t choose my words. Also, I’ve had two challenging weeks personally so I’m acting up a bit. I apologize for my words to everyone on the site.
Pro tip, never a good look when you follow up “I am absolutely against any kind of abuse” with the word but.
Kinda gives the impression that you don’t know what the words absolutely and against mean.
Reading through this entire thread to this point – and then coming onto these few comments and the below responses… it’s strikes me that there is already a perfectly simple solution in place:
you don’t agree with someone’s comment – just downvote it, and vice-versa.
By all mean qualify/explain your disagreement in a comment if you wish, but you’ve already expressed your disagreement so there is ZERO need nor justification to resort to insults or personal attacks.
I think we should sell him in the summer as he still has those same mistakes and although he’s improves he is still too limited. That’s just my opinion though and wish him well wherever he ends up (even if he stays even though I wouldn’t like it).
As a mere football fan sometimes I fail to see what Xhaka brings to a football game. However I choose to trust his coaches. I mean, how come he’s always been a starter from Basel, Borrusia (he was their youngest ever captain if I’m not wrong). Unless he’s suspended, he’s played nearly all games under Wenger, Unai, Freddie, Arteta and Swiss team. There must be something all those men see in him. He’s captained Arsenal, Borrusia and Swiss team!
I read the SkyNews report on this. Threats, discrimination and harassment need addressing But they were also talking about players being called “Snake” “Rat” “Traitor” These analogies might not be very nice, but I’m not convinced we should ban them Free speech must include the right to offend Otherwise we risk ending up as a humourless population, of people walking on egg shells, afraid of cracking jokes, upsetting some snowflake, or being cancelled for using the wrong analogy, or having the wrong opinion Cancel culture is all fun and games, right up until the point that your opinions and beliefs… Read more »
Have you actually lived in China or North Korea? Or are you basing your point on what you’ve ben told about these nations in the western media? The self-same media that you don’t trust policing the iternet.
Our players are really strong. It must be a harrowing sight in inboxes of Mustafi and Xhaka after they had their ‘moments’. No one deserves abuse directed at their personal account. I recently noticed comments turned off on Willian’s instagram. “Fans” need to know better.
As a software engineer, I really don’t think it would be as easy as people imagine to make ID’s compulsory for social media. For it to have full effect it would need to be global, and there are many different country, many different regimes and many types of people that need to stay anon. It is a bit of an oversimplification to say ‘just make them submit their Id when they create an account’.
Agree – that’s not a real solution. For a start it doesn’t do anything about all the people using their real names who quite happily do that shit anyway.
We can’t control what other countries do, and neither should we ever try to But we can lead the way on this You need ID to open a bank account, apply for a passport, a credit card, buy alcohol or cigarettes, and IMO, you should need it to vote as well Setting up a system that requires government issued ID, surely wouldn’t be too hard for the oligarchs of Silicon Valley I like what they’re doing in Poland, they’re fining social media companies for banning any user, who hasn’t broken any domestic laws Doing this ensures the oligarchs don’t have… Read more »
People also have a right to privacy.
And this skirts rather too close to the ‘If you don’t do anything wrong what do you have to worry about?’ argument.
The privacy issue a load of bollocks, you have to sign up and login to post or comment on social media at which point the users personal data, internet history etc is tracked and recorded and monetised in lieu of receiving their service for “free”, so they have absolutely no interest in the privacy of their users, to the contrary, user data is the most valuable commodity in the world. And this is the problem, those in the public eye want a piece of that action so join in. They also keep comment functions etc on because each additional “interaction”… Read more »
The privacy ship has long sailed
Facebook, Google, Apple, are basically giant data mining companies
They can even record us when our devices are switched off
That battle is lost
The next battle is who becomes the arbiter of truth, who controls what you can and can’t read
What constitutes hate speech
Who referees it.
There’s no perfect choice, but the logical choice is our elected representatives, because at least we can vote them out
The concern is the amount of money Silicon Valley donates to a certain political party
Absolutely, and moreover, the fact you can open an anonymous account and immediately comment we don’t even know if there is a real problem with so called hate speech, racism, sexism etc etc and not just bad actors trying to manipulate the situation. As you say, there’s a battle going on to control what people are and aren’t allowed to say, and it shouldn’t be tech companies who make that decision. But as i’ve said above and you again below, their business model is vacuuming up as much user data as they can and to maintain that the path of… Read more »
I like South Park’s take on humour, and you could apply this to free speech “You can’t differentiate what’s ok to make fun of, and what isn’t Either everything’s ok? Or nothing at all?” I have no idea if they’re using bad actors to push a narrative, so they can use it as an excuse to monitor speech, but it wouldn’t surprise me If we lose the battle on speech, like we’ve lost the battle on our privacy The consequences will prove catastrophic We risk ending up as a humourless population, who don’t know how to laugh at ourselves, walking… Read more »
And then the doxxing goes to 11.
That sounds waaay closer to DPRK and China than some private companies handing some conspiracy trolls, racists, and violence peddlers their hat.
I treat social media like a backed up toilet. Use it if I really have to, but don’t look at it afterwards
I went on a cyber security course with the police, they said that if the perpetrator was in the UK they could trace and find them. The clubs should be working with everyone who can help them; racism, homophobic abuse, death threats and threats of violence to players and their families is just not acceptable.
The real reason for where we are as humanity is due to how separated we’ve become from God.
That’s not what He said on Twitter … 😉
Oh, FFS.
which one?
My favorite is the god of tits and wine.
My point exactly.But I’m talking about the one and only Creator God.The God of love and order.
Thierry?
Thierry was the destroyer. Surely Özil is the God of creation?
*drops lit match and walks away
And which God would that be… in which belief system/culture/country/region/tribe?
I believe the mantra should be do unto others what you want done unto you. Live and let live. Love is the key.
There is no excuse for anyone to be abused online. As an Arsenal fan when one of our own players gets abused it hurts even more because they are like family. I am not the most tech-savvy or an expert on social media, but here is an idea, and if I am wrong or there is a better way I would love for someone to explain this to me. I have Facebook, and I only use it with close friends and family. No one can abuse me or send me anything hurtful. Why can’t players just make their online profiles… Read more »
They can avoid social media, like Leno does, but it’s a huge shame that all the nice things have to stop because horrible people win. I enjoy looking at some of the players posts, and reading some of the nice comments, but that would all be stopped. It’s a bit like when some were saying ban all fans if some idiot ran on to the pitch (those were the days!) I don’t like it when decent people have to lose out because a few weirdos are getting away with stuff. The perpetrators of this abuse should be found, punished, shamed… Read more »
What if the players continue to post, you read them and enjoy, but comments are blocked? Would that work? You can still like a comment, share it, post it, but just disable comments.
We’d paint them as cold and unapproachable, like a player not open to signing autographs or mulling about with fans. I think they want to share themselves with fans because they enjoy it, they feel part of the Arsenal community, and, in some cases, they are contractually obligated to be involved in social media. Just like players feed off the cheering crowd on the pitch, they revel in the ongoing support — and while you might be right, it seems a shame to cut off 99% of awesome fans despite the 1% of jackasses. But I get your point, completely,… Read more »
I think the clubs need to move away from Facebook, Twitter etc if they don’t do more. Premier League clubs must be the most followed pages, they can force a difference with their absence.
Most people talk out of their arse but that’s to be expected since they are footy fans. That said, we’ve seen the rabble make things more complicated for Wenger and the club leading to eventually Arsene just missing out on CL. Had there not been so much added pressure from ‘fans’ maybe Wenger could have finished slightly higher. But as I mentioned then be careful for what you wish for. As much as some of these simpleton fans felt we could only get better, we could also get a lot worse. Cue Emery who came in to fans spouting off… Read more »
I have excused myself from social media for a few years now, I wasn’t being very pleasant and not were those who I was idiotic enough to engage with.
I haven’t regretted it one bit. You will never stop idiots saying idiotic things, no matter how much you censor, or have campaigns against mean words. Leno is doing the right thing, stepping away. Let the idiots eat themselves.
a few years ago, amidst all the abuse against mustafi, i asked you a question: have you thought about your implication and responsibility as a blogger in such abuse? since then, i’ve noticed the blog’s changed and the last few posts are the ultimate answer to my question. congratulations on acknowledging your role as a website and trying to create a healthy place where everyone can express themselves. you’re achieving it, keep it up. cheers!
Unfortunately it’s a disease and we must treat the people with the only medication that works – education !!!
We all get frustrated during a match and shout things at the TV, but to find the social media account of the player/referee/pundit or whoever has irked you and then write down bile and direct it in their direction shows that something in their brain is just not functioning properly.
Anyway, it’s just a thought – you all have a good day !
I don’t feel like it makes sense every time seeing these players giving us the joy and happiness we need inside the game and then in turn abuse them for God’s sake they’re humans and have families too respect them cheer them up whenever they’ve a bad game i leave you with this question you abusing them is life perfect? The abusive words shows you are not perfect so please let show them them the love ❤️ from Eric in Sierra Leone 🇸🇱
Can I still say Tottenham is shit or is that not criticism that is constructive?
I just want to send a big thank you to all our players. You deserve better!