Very low – Exclusive: Pundit reacts as Leeds loanee details extensive fan abuse on social media
We’re delighted to welcome former England goalkeeper Paul Robinson as our exclusive columnist. Each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at Leeds United…
Paul Robinson has said fans don’t ‘realise the effect’ they can have on players after Jack Harrison revealed he had to delete his social media accounts because of fan abuse in his first season at Leeds.
Harrison made that revelation in LeedsLive, where he said, “I had to delete Twitter. Too many people coming at me.”
Harrison has improved massively under Marcelo Bielsa and is now one of the first names on the team sheet, with 63 consecutive league starts.
Talking exclusively to MOT Leeds News Robinson said, “I don’t think fans realise the effect they can have on players.
“Because players are human beings and at the end of the day your confidence is a huge part of the way you play, especially as a goalkeeper – and fans can really affect that.
“I think social media is a fantastic tool used in the right way, but it’s an awful tool used in the wrong way by keyboard warriors and people don’t understand the lasting damage they can do to players. It’s a very low form of abuse.
“You see it in football stadiums. Grown men think it’s fine to shout things at you they wouldn’t dream of saying to you outside.
“I used to get a load of abuse from fans behind me and when I turned around and caught the eye of the person who was behind it, he’d sit down embarrassed.
“There’s no chance anyone would say to your face what they say on a tweet if they saw you walking down the street with your family. It shouldn’t be acceptable on Twitter.
“Even fans of opposition clubs, they’re more likely to ask for your autograph than say what they would on a tweet.”
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