However the above ‘banter’ is nothing compared to some of the negativity that Twitter can bring, with the infamous Chris Foy, Chris Hoy mix up bringing Twitter into disrepute. Olympic legend Hoy reportedly received much in the way of threats, and all round abuse from Tottenham fans, following a poor refereeing performance from Chris Foy. Furthermore, professional players overstep the mark as well as the general public.
Experienced Oxford City striker, Lee Steele, was recently sacked for a terrible and ultimately unprofessional expulsion of a homophobic comment surrounding ex-Rugby player Gareth Thomas. Without a Twitter account this would not have occurred, and, although rightly sacked, the prevention of this distasteful comment would have ceased to exist on the pages of his followers, leaving him in a job as both a footballer and a role model.
Twitter is a perfect gateway for free speech, allowing fans to see the human beings behind the mask of the footballer, and in this way, Joey Barton has a point when suggesting censorship of his mortal thoughts is unjust. Furthermore, allowing the footballer themselves to defend against unnecessary media criticism and attacks, as well as give something back to the fans, adds to encourage positivity within our game, as well as two sides to the often biased media headlines. However there is a fine line between free speech and general, unprovoked attacks on others, as this negativity is not something the readers or recipients want to see. It ultimately needs to be up to the club to enforce rules and regulations on posts, encouraging players to think before they act, as well as to keep attitude and focus to an absolute optimum.
Ultimately it takes a brave, or sometimes stupid, footballer to voice their ever changing feelings on Twitter; however should the footballer take this risk, it is important to use it in an appropriate and positive manner, in turn leaving it a happy hobby rather than a negative obsession. However the sad truth is that, for any modern day footballer, it will not be this easy, meaning users must be prepared for constant criticism and often abuse from opposing fans and players’ week in, week out, for the rest of their Twittering career, and leaving media focus further from the game itself than ever before.
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