2 months ago
17 Earlier this week Tottenham’s Brennan Johnson earned his side a place in the next round of the Carabao Cup with a fine injury-time finish against Coventry City.
It came in the wake of social media abuse directed at the player which resulted in him deleting some of his social accounts.
After the game it was if he had to be forced to go and clap the travelling support, the mental toll that the abuse had taken on him clear for all to see.
It’s another example of the way in which cowards who hide behind a keyboard can get under the skin of professional players.
Tottenham manager, Ange Postecoglou, was none too impressed by their actions.
??? Postecoglou on Brennan Johnson getting abused on social media: “Criticism is one thing, you accept that”.
“To sit down and write something abusive anonymously… say it in front of me, you’ll get a punch on the nose, you won’t do it again, mate. But they won’t do that”. pic.twitter.com/Qd4jVUUzUX
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) September 18, 2024
“Criticism is one thing, you accept that,” he was quoted as saying by CaughtOffside columnist and transfer expert, Fabrizio Romano, on X (formerly Twitter).
“To sit down and write something abusive anonymously… say it in front of me, you’ll get a punch on the nose, you won’t do it again, mate. But they won’t do that”
Former professional, Stan Collymore, himself the target of incessant abuse via social media platforms at times, weighed in with his own opinion.
“I saw a clip of Brennan Johnson being pushed by his team-mates last night in the League Cup towards the away end, and he literally just put his hands together three times, a little clap and turned away,” he said to CaughtOffside for his exclusive column.
Collymore has a message of support for Brennan Johnson
“After the social media abuse directed at him, that was a message to the Spurs fans at Coventry and supporters more generally.
“If I was still playing today, given how outspoken I was then never mind today, I’d have probably been deleting my Instagram, my X, my Tiktok etc. every single week.
“I remember in the early days, I was the first current or former player to use Twitter, and I started to use it on talkSPORT as a great tool to get real time feedback from supporters.
“Now we already have a situation where lots of players accounts are managed by their people, and you just see a very sanitised version of themselves.
“I think that fans want authenticity in their superstars but aside from the likes of Marcus Rashford, a lot of players’ social media is very, very benign.
“What I’d say to supporters is, if you want to engage with your heroes on social media, don’t send them nasty messages. It’s that simple.
“And for players like Brennan Johnson, I’d say one thing; if deleting your social media means that you’re able to get the maximum out of your career, you go right ahead son.”

 
It’s worth pondering on the fact that clubs themselves also have a duty of care towards their employees, and social media companies hold ultimate responsibility for what they are allowing to be posted on their sites.
Until the law comes down hard on those who perpetuate such abuse, the chances are it will continue unabated.
Top photo by Matt McNulty/Getty Images
