Patrick Bamford: Leeds United organised security after what fans did in ‘diabolical’ situation
Patrick Bamford has revealed that Leeds United chiefs arranged security at his house amid a “diabolical” situation last season.
Speaking on BBC’s My Mate’s a Footballer podcast, Bamford shared that he and his family – including his young daughter – were targeted by angry fans.
It came on the back of the striker missing a penalty in a draw with Newcastle United as Leeds slumped to Premier League relegation.
“The situation Leeds were in was a pretty diabolical one – we were looking like we were going to go down, which we eventually did,” he said.
“I always had Twitter, until about mid-March. The abuse got so bad – threatening my family and even my little girl.
“As I turn up the drive to get in I can’t even cross the gate, there’s two cars [blocking it].
“I went to put my window down. As I did, they put their windows up and just started at me. Then the gate opened because my dad had opened it and they drove off.
“I think it was a culmination of the last few weeks. I took a lot of flak for it. The way they expressed it was crazy.
“It goes from conversations with David [Bamford’s sports psychologist] about sorting out how I’m feeling to then I’ve got to deal with [the fact] Michaela doesn’t feel safe in her own home.
“I rang him literally straight after that happened. He was like ‘how do you feel?’
“I said ‘I’m not upset about the abuse, I’m angry that someone’s come up to the house’. The club ended up putting security on the house for the night.”
Patrick Bamford’s Elland Road revival
It goes without saying that no footballer – especially one at your own club – deserves to be hounded this badly by ‘supporters’.
Bamford went through a tough time of things last season, as did pretty much every Leeds player, culminating in the club’s relegation.
The 30-year-old continued to struggle into this season, too, and only really turned things around last month.
From pretty much out of nowhere, Bamford has scored four goals and assisted another in eight matches this calendar year for promotion-chasing Leeds.
That form has propelled him into Daniel Farke’s starting line-up and means a player of Joel Piroe’s quality now watches on from the bench.
Those who sent abusive messages to Bamford and turned up at his property need to take a serious look at themselves.
Fans can get frustrated at times, particularly in the heat of a relegation scrap, but there is a clear line and it should never be crossed.
In other Leeds United news, a BBC Sport pundit has questioned Farke after what he saw in the win over Plymouth Argyle.
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