Just a few hours after Newcastle’s harrowing 3-0 defeat at the hands of Roberto Martinez’s Everton side, some fans decided to launch verbal abuse onto the players, even though each and every one of them knew they weren’t up to standard.
One player in particular, young Jamaal Lascelles, received a late red card after a good display only to receive one of the most disgusting jibes I’ve ever witnessed on Twitter.
With the Magpies languishing in the dreaded relegation zone after a series of inept performances this season, I can understand why the fans – who invest time and money into watching the team – are infuriated.
However, targeting the players’ mental state on social media is completely unacceptable and will not solve anything.
Think about it; You’ve had a bad day at the office, and you return home to read several people hurling abuse your way for your underperformance. Some of them wishing death upon you.
How would you feel? I know how I’d feel. I would become paranoid, stressed and it certainly wouldn’t fill me with bundles of joy.
If I was a manager of a professional football club and had well-known players, I would heavily advise them to scrap all usage of social media.
It is a dark, unforgiving place that can mentally break you and put you down.
Yes, Newcastle and its players are underperforming, and the head coach, as of now, looks way out of his depth.
But, immediately slamming and abusing players who will be extremely disappointed after a loss will not suddenly make them better players.
Kick It Out conducted an investigation into cyberbullying of footballers in the Premier League and staggeringly found that a club or player receives, on average, an abusive message every 2.6 minutes.
88% of abuse to players comes from Twitter, 8% stems from Facebook and 4% of it is from forums/blogs.
Football players aren’t bulletproof – they do have feelings. They’re not robots, they’re human. I speak for the majority when I say that abusing any player about their performance will not solve the issue.
We are all desperate for Newcastle United to maintain Premier League status so that we can continue to grow, but if you turn to foul language directed at players, you’re directly contributing to the possibility of relegation.
Solidarity in times of distress is key. Nearly every player in the squad hasn’t been up to scratch this season, and the same can be said for the head coach (who I’m glad has no social media, but the way).
By all means, air your frustrations with fellow fans and offer solutions to the ongoing problem, but please don’t send vile abuse to the players’ accounts. It has a negative effect.