Cry Baby...

[mrtoad]

Campbell calls for abuse to stop

Sol Campbell says verbal abuse towards footballers and managers has spiralled out of control and it is time for the authorities to start taking action.

Campbell says he has come under fire himself while Sir Alex Ferguson, Harry Redknapp and Avram Grant have all complained about crowd behaviour.

"It's out of hand now," the Portsmouth and England defender told BBC Radio 4.

"We can all take the booing or light banter, but when it gets to the realms of verbal abuse it's a bridge too far."

Campbell felt so strongly about the situation that he rang the BBC to raise the issue himself.

"You get to the stage when people say you've got to be immune to this," he added.

"I may be immune to this but I'm playing football and should not be subjected to that type of abuse.

"I am an international player who has given his whole career to club and country. I think I deserve more than this.

"I know some people may be a little bit disgruntled at how I left certain clubs. I totally understand that.

"But when you get to the level of personal abuse that I and other players are subjected to, it's got to stop now."

And Campbell thinks verbal abuse is as bad as racist chanting.

"There is no difference for me," said the 33-year-old centre-half. "It's harmful. They are trying to belittle you and it is downright out of order."

I think the FA have let down a few players up and down the league

Campbell says not enough has been done to stamp the problem out.

"I think the FA has let down a few players up and down the league," he said.

The former Tottenham and Arsenal player even accused the game's governing body in England of sitting idle and brushing the problem under the carpet.

"This is the 21st century," he said.

"This is a human rights situation where professional sportsmen - managers as well - want to do their job professionally and people are abusing them verbally.

"If this happened on the street you'd be arrested. The FA, the PFA (Professional Footballers' Association) and even the government should get involved."

Campbell, who says clubs could be fined if they fail to control their fans, plans to meet the FA to air his concerns.

But in response to his claims, the FA issued a statement suggesting it was already working hard to stamp out abusive behaviour by fans.

"The FA works very closely with clubs and also with the government in terms of pushing for legislation to clamp down on abusive, threatening or violent behaviour in football grounds," it read.

On a match-by-match basis the responsibility lies with the individual clubs to deal with any abusive, threatening, insulting or racist behaviour that goes on

FA statement

"But we have to be clear that on a match-by-match basis the responsibility lies with the individual clubs to deal with any abusive, threatening, insulting or racist behaviour that goes on.

"When that behaviour goes into the realms of a criminal offence, then they must deal with it in conjunction with the police.

"Whenever someone is either ejected from a ground or arrested at a football match for abusive, insulting, racist or violent behaviour, we would absolutely support any efforts to get those people banned from football matches from anything from three to 10 years.

"We wouldn't want them connected with the game in any way."

PFA chief executive Gordon Taylor sympathised with Campbell.

He told BBC Sport: "Sol has been subjected to quite a bit of abuse of various natures in his time and he is entitled to ask for help and support. I hope that will come, not only from his club but the FA as well."

Chelsea boss Grant also believes players receive too much abuse from spectators.

"From a sporting perspective I don't like it," said Grant after defender Ashley Cole was verbally abused by Arsenal fans during Sunday's game against his old club.

"Football is not an opera or a concert, but this is not the first time they did it and I have a feeling it won't be the last.

"I don't like it. I never did it even when I was a supporter, but it's part of football."

I have to say this guy has got some cheek. What a <deleted> cry baby . Stick and Stones anyone?

And he reckons it's a breach of his human rights . I reckon he's gonna get even more stick now, and in my opinion quite rightly.

[mrbojangles]

I agree Toady. The reason people shout the abuse is because of the passion they have for football. Jeez, i've heard abuse at Sunday league football so it's not exclusive to proffessional football.

If it wasn't for that passion, football wouldn't be as popular and he would be on Rugby players salaries.

[scousemouse]

If I was getting paid $160,000 + every week then anyone in the whole world could call me whatever the <deleted> they want .

I've always liked Sol Cambell so for him to come out with something like this spoils my opinion of him some what.

At the end of the day getting abuse on the pitch is an occupational hazard and if you don't like it then don't be a professional footballer .

And anyway , the fans pay the players salaries so a bit of stick here and there is alright .

[markr]

I think its a bit soft when players whinge about getting stick, but I'm sure you boys know quite rightly, that being called a buck toothed nigger,(our ledley for example) week in, week out is a bit below the belt and would probably get on your nerves quite a bit.

I'm not sticking up for Sol because he is our number one Judas, but I believe there is a point when it must really start to get on yer tits

I dunno maybe i'm soft

Mark

[mrbojangles]

It's an advantage of playing at home (not the racist thing though). But you get behind your team and wind the opposition up. He'd have us acting like we're in Church

[mrtoad]

I think its a bit soft when players whinge about getting stick, but I'm sure you boys know quite rightly, that being called a buck toothed nigger,(our ledley for example) week in, week out is a bit below the belt and would probably get on your nerves quite a bit.

I'm not sticking up for Sol because he is our number one Judas, but I believe there is a point when it must really start to get on yer tits

I dunno maybe i'm soft

Mark

I agree that there is no place for the racist element of chanting, but Sol's not complaining about the racist element, he's actually complaining about general chanting and fans having a go at players. What do these guys want, a return to the days with polite clapping, the rattle, and clap, clap, clap, clap (Insert team name) or 2,4,6,8, who do we apprecioate?....

I think he's made a rod for his own back on this one, and just goes to show how far buried up their own rectums some of these pro footballers are these days.

[markr]

I think its a bit soft when players whinge about getting stick, but I'm sure you boys know quite rightly, that being called a buck toothed nigger,(our ledley for example) week in, week out is a bit below the belt and would probably get on your nerves quite a bit.

I'm not sticking up for Sol because he is our number one Judas, but I believe there is a point when it must really start to get on yer tits

I dunno maybe i'm soft

Mark

I agree that there is no place for the racist element of chanting, but Sol's not complaining about the racist element, he's actually complaining about general chanting and fans having a go at players. What do these guys want, a return to the days with polite clapping, the rattle, and clap, clap, clap, clap (Insert team name) or 2,4,6,8, who do we apprecioate?....

I think he's made a rod for his own back on this one, and just goes to show how far buried up their own rectums some of these pro footballers are these days.

He may not be complaining about it directly but, racism is used as the backbone of amost abuse complaints in football.

If that element was not there then I dont think players would be able make such a big deal about the stick they get on the pitch.

Dont worry i'm not in the PC brigade, but its human nature to not take critisism/abuse well regardless of how much money you are paid or fortunate you may be.

My boss pays me well but if someone called me a useless <deleted> I'd chin him in an instant!

Mark

[mrtoad]

He may not be complaining about it directly but, racism is used as the backbone of amost abuse complaints in football.

If that element was not there then I dont think players would be able make such a big deal about the stick they get on the pitch.

Dont worry i'm not in the PC brigade, but its human nature to not take critisism/abuse well regardless of how much money you are paid or fortunate you may be.

My boss pays me well but if someone called me a useless <deleted> I'd chin him in an instant!

Mark

Mark, I can see you're not from the PC police. I agree with some of the things that you are saying, but I think he has to acept that taunting etc, is part and parcel of his occupation. I'm sure no one likes it, I certainly don't, and in my previous profession in the UK it is pretty common to get verbal and sometimes physical abuse. As a professional, you have to show restraint and get on with the job that you are doing. If my boss called me a cun_t, then that would be a different matter. I just don't see that some of the stick that is dished out by the crowd is going to go away, without having a direct impact upon the match day atmosphere. Let's face, it's always a bit of fun giving the opposing teams, and even sometimes your own players a bit of stick.

Racist abuse, is very different and it is unacceptable, and I'd like to think that in general that element is much less prominent these days, then say back in the mid 90's. I can certainly remeber all the monkey chants and other racist songs from thoise days, and that was and is not acceptable.

As it stands at the moment, Sol is whinging, and I don't think he is going to glean too much sympathy from the football paying public.

[dee123]

.....Here I go again ruffling a few feathers ....but I totally agree with Sol Campbell it does't hve to be this way,..I stopped going to see live football for this very reason,rather watch it on TV.......I played amatuer football and got some of this "stick" on a couple of occasions. I was very nearly going to do a Cantona and walk over to this idiot in the stand....as usual it is "pack" mentality and it just shows how weak and feeble these hecklers are.....

[Travel2003]

Agree,

for that amount of money, people could call me whatever they liked.

But Harry Redknap had one very good point.

He sees grown up men with their children next to them, using this bad language and sends out obsceene signals using their fists or fingers.

No wonder the 2 youngest generations in England use f.... this and f... that 2-3 times in each sentence.

Ohhh, not to forget the belowed "Bullocks" word.

[Jockstar]

<deleted> is a great word.

[markr]

ROBBIES VIEW

Keane plays down fan abuse claim

Tottenham striker Robbie Keane believes footballers should not be too sensitive over verbal abuse from fans.

Portsmouth's Sol Campbell called for the Football Association to act after claiming abuse has "got out of hand".

But Keane told BBC Radio 5 Live: "Verbal abuse - I've had it, but nothing that would make me go crazy.

"I don't know what has been said to Sol. It obviously must have been something that really upset him for him to ask the FA to intervene."

Campbell joins a list of senior figures, which includes Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, Portsmouth boss Harry Redknapp and Chelsea coach Avram Grant, who have complained about crowd behaviour.

The England defender felt so strongly about the situation that he rang the BBC to raise the issue himself.

But Keane played down his experiences of abuse from the terraces.

"Things like that don't really bother me," added Keane. "You get fans who say things in the heat of the moment.

"Sometimes fans try to give you a little bit of stick and I give a little bit back to them. It's just a bit of banter really.

"Fans say things they don't really mean. It's a spur of the moment thing, getting a little bit of stick here and there doesn't hurt anyone.

"I don't like it when people swear when kids are sat beside them. You shouldn't swear in front of kids. If there are no kids there and someone gives you a bit of banter, I usually laugh and say something back to them."

And Keane defended players who swear on the pitch, insisting it is not meant to offend anyone.

"The fans are not giving abuse to ridicule you, they are saying it out of frustration," he stated.

"It's the same for a player on the pitch. If a bad decision goes against you, you say something out of frustration in those few seconds.

"We all do it. We are not doing it to upset anyone."

If keano says its not a big deal then its not!

I'll say no more

[binnsy]

And i suppose that the White British players do not get stick from the multi nationals who are in the prem league?

i dont think so.

[Jimjim]

Sorry, I disagree with some of you. The wanke_rs who shout abuse at players are well out of order. I'm talking about those who take it to an extreme, personal level including racist remarks. In the end it has to be put up with and I can't see it being criminal, but he has every right to complain. There's such a thing as human decency even in football. Yell all you want but drunken, beligerrent yelling that gets very personal just shows the immaturity and cowardlyness of the fan. I think it shows he's a man with some dignity if it bothers him, in Campbell. I wouldn't call him a crybaby. I don't think it's got anything to do with money, either. Who cares how much they make? He's got every right, as far as I'm concerned.

[Jimjim]

On a lighter side, Campbell should just pull a Cantona high kick move. What a clip that is. Classic. Then he could talk about the seagulls following the trawlers at a press conference. Hilarious.

[scousemouse]

I wouldn't call him a crybaby. I don't think it's got anything to do with money, either. Who cares how much they make? He's got every right, as far as I'm concerned.

He's got every right ???? to want a stop to the banter/abuse he gets at football matches .

If that happens then there would be no football played what so ever in England or the World.

Racism chants are no longer a fixture in England ( a good thing ) so the banter all the players recieve is part and parcel of playing in the premiership. As I've said before , if they don't like it that much then they can stop playing , not too hard a choice .

Sol is a crybaby , with no sympathy from scousemouse .

[mrbojangles]

Sol is a crybaby , with no sympathy from scousemouse .

Or MrBoJangles

[mrtoad]

Sol is a crybaby , with no sympathy from scousemouse .

Or MrBoJangles

Or mrtoad

[JacknDanny]

Sol is a crybaby , with no sympathy from scousemouse .

Or MrBoJangles

Or mrtoad

Or Sylvain Distin

[mrtoad]

Fans and players deserve each other

Premier League footballers shouldn't expect the respect of fans until they raise their own low moral standards

Paul WilsonDecember 23, 2007 1:28 AM

Sol Campbell made an articulate and impassioned plea the other day for foul-mouthed spectators to show footballers a little more respect. A day later, the Spurs fan who comes into our pub (and had been among those barracking Campbell at Fratton Park the previous weekend) plonked his pint on the table and said: 'Well, it looks like we're getting through to Judas at long last.'

If I were Campbell, I would just give up, I think, except that I wouldn't see why I should be prevented from earning my living by the warped sensibilities of people who pay to watch football then take every opportunity to hate its protagonists. David Beckham once said he never worried too much about what the crowd chanted, because he was the one being paid to play and they were the ones who had paid to get in. But that was before his sudden exit from France 98 and the subsequent focused abuse he and his wife had to suffer.

Things have grown worse since then, and Campbell, Steven Gerrard, Arsene Wenger and Gary Neville, to name just the most obvious examples, have had to put with experiences that should not take place in a civilised society, still less in the name of sport. That they have put up with them speaks volumes for their professionalism, but they shouldn't have to, and Campbell is right to worry about where it will all end up. The argument that footballers are paid enough to shrug and let the bile roll off their back misses the point. It is still an unedifying and dehumanising process for the rest of us and not one we should be proud of passing down to future generations. The day footballers agree to accept limitless abuse as part of the deal that comes with the giant salaries is the day sport loses out to something more sick and gladiatorial. The argument that shelling out £30 for a ticket entitles fans to say what they like was lost as soon as what they were saying became so moronic.

Footballers, for the most part, don't mind being judged on their football - that is the basic contract between player and paying spectator. A certain earthiness of language and bluntness of expression is permissible, too; that's what the game is all about. But any right-thinking parent will think twice about inducting a child into a tradition of explicit sexual insults, savage jibes and slanderous innuendo. It's not big and it's not clever, and as Harry Redknapp rightly said after his unpleasant experience at Aston Villa, it should not be swept under the carpet.

What goes on at some of the highest-profile Premier League matches is an ugly stain on English football that everyone is trying to ignore, in the vain hope it will go away. A bit like the Manchester United Christmas party and the other orgies of bad publicity that take place at this time of year. Whether the decline in standards of terrace behaviour is linked to the perceived decline in value for money provided by the average Premier League playboy is one for the psychologists to argue over. It could even turn out that footballers behave badly these days because they learn nothing about respecting their fellow citizens and quickly form the opinion that the general public is made up of potty-mouthed inadequates who richly deserve their crap jobs and low wages.

Sir Alex Ferguson might now be trying to ban Christmas after the event, though this time it seems a manager once famous for driving slowly past his players' houses to make sure people were not misbehaving took his eye off the ball to an alarming extent if he really allowed the first team to organise it. It is a huge embarrassment for United at a time when the club is preparing to mark the 50th anniversary of Munich, and when Christmas finally arrives and the roasting season is over, there will be even less sympathy than ever for Campbell's view that footballers are human beings with human rights. What goes around comes around, as they say upstairs at the Great John Street Hotel. There seems no end to this depressing downward spiral and this newspaper knows for a fact that at least one more Premier League manager was disgusted by his players' behaviour at the annual party. His complaint? No one got drunk and everyone went home early. Needless to say we are not going to name him. Happy Christmas.