To not understand other football fans sometimes?

[PhilSwagielka]

As my name suggests, I'm an Everton fan. I've not gone to matches for years - long story - so I'm more of an armchair. But at times, I wonder if football is really right for me because I find a lot of fans' attitudes hard to understand. Case in point: Seamus Coleman.

Background: Everton played Spurs last weekend. Andre Gomes, one of the Everton team, was on the receiving end of a nasty tackle by either Heung-Min Son or Serge Aurier, and ended up with a horrible broken leg (pictures are quite graphic). Son was distraught and crying, especially as he got sent off for it, and after the match, Seamus Coleman - Everton's captain, though not for that game - went to Spurs' changing room to have a word with Son. He was also seen talking to him during the match. Apparently either he or Lucas Digne called for medics.

Everton fans are kicking off, saying Coleman should be sold or stripped of his captaincy and all sorts, that he is weak and a coward, that his 'soft as shite' mentality is why Everton are doing so badly, and that he and his team mates should have injured a Spurs player in revenge or beaten Son up. I honestly don't understand what was so terrible about what he did. I don't see how beating Son up is going to heal Gomes' leg.

I honestly feel like I live on a different planet to other football fans sometimes. It's like they want to watch Game Of Thrones rather than people playing a game.

I agree. Seamus Coleman had a long period out with a fractured leg himself so knows more about this than most people.

I’m a football fan too (saints for my sins) and I love going to games etc I would say 80% of the crowd are all On the same page, but there’s that few who have such warped and aggressive views. I thought Coleman was great - Son was clearly devastated. I thought it was pretty decent of him to show compassion. Saying they should retaliate by hurting a spurs player is just pathetic. It’s a shame these people give football fans a bad rep.

That's what I was thinking - Coleman suffered a leg break against Wales. He understands.

Coleman isn't amazing, but he does a lot for the club and the fans and Everton In The Community, everyone I've spoken to who's met him has said he's lovely, he's given plenty of time and money to help others and yet so many of our fans hate him because he's 'too nice' and not enough of a dirty bastard.

I'm a Liverpool fan so no love lost with Everton but really dont understand that mentality. It makes me think far more of Coleman for that not sure why anyone would want him to or anyone else to get revenge for what was clearly an accident. Hopefully Gomes makes a full recovery.

@Singletomingle you're not the only kopite I've seen who's said that about Coleman. Tbh if Mohamed Salah or whoever got an injury like that, I'd feel sorry for him. I mean, I hate Man United and I still felt sad for Luke Shaw when he got a really horrible injury. I know they're paid a lot of money, but footballers are only people at the end of the day, and so is Marco Silva. He's not great but our fans act like he's a fucking robot because he doesn't show 'passion', i.e. he doesn't act like Klopp. Silva does smile, he's not gloomy all the time.

Where are you hearing/seeing these comments? If its Twitter or an Everton forum, let it go. Every large group of people will have some idiots, social media amplifies their voices and can give the impression that they're in the majority. A good friend of mine is an Everton season ticket holder who certainly wouldn't expect anyone to have beaten Son up, to say "Everton fans are kicking off" sounds like there's a consensus amongst the fan base on this. There definitely isn't.

Twitter and sorry, I should have said 'some' or 'a lot of of' Everton fans because there are some I follow who think Coleman was right. I'm sure my brother does as well, not spoken to him though (he's a season ticket holder).

Yeah, I've heard stuff to this effect too - yet Coleman's humanity is exactly what makes a good captain. He's not the issue with the Ev's performance as such, you need more money and a good manager. Silva is nice to look at but that's about it.

I'm red shite but live in Yorkshire and yes, I've had a couple of people say 'I bet you were laughing at Gomes, weren't you?'. Well, no, of course I wasn't! Poor sod was in agony - and besides, you blue noses have always stood beside us when it really mattered. I sort of like seeing Everton doing well - it makes me happy to think that half the people at home are happy IYSWIM.

Silva isn't the worst we've had, and he is a hottie and I think he does genuinely care about the club, but I honestly think he's in over his head and we need someone a bit more experienced. And whose teams play football that isn't a borefest.

And thanks, I'm genuinely happy to see Liverpool fans on here not being awful, because I've had so many encounters on Twitter with some really vicious ones (and I got bullied in school by both Liverpool and Man United fans in the '90s). I don't have a go at them or make fun of them when they lose, I don't do that. I've seen a lot of jokes from male Liverpool fans on there about how Everton fans beat up their wives when we lose, and saying Gomes deserved it because of Holgate shoving Firmino into a hoarding and Funes Mori's horror tackle on Origi. Most kopites I'm friends with on social media or IRL are nice about it but a couple have been horrible and I'm very nervous around them. I'm autistic, so I take 'banter' very personally and think they hate me just for supporting a team.

Incidentally, I've heard from sources that Jordan Henderson is lovely as well, and proof that you don't have to be a bastard to captain a winning team. Same with Kompany.

I think the outpouring of sympathy for Son is a bit much TBH. He did intend to hurt the player, following an earlier incident between the two of them although, of course, not to cause such an horrendous injury.

I have to come away from football forums every now and again. Whilst it's interesting to hear different views and catch bits of football related gossip, these kinds of views are not representative of any I hear from football fans I meet in real life.

Yes, there are a tiny minority of football fan idiots , but I don't really think it's any different to the tiny minority of idiots you find in all walks of life, whether sports fans, workplace or even family.

Same here. My matchgoing family are a lot more liberal and less obsessed with passion and violence than fans online. They don't obsess about Liverpool as much either.

I honestly think social media is fucking toxic for football fans. Women fans are still disliked by a lot of men, if we comment on stuff we get told to do the dishes or whatever. There's been some horrendous racism towards the likes of Origi, Asante and Sterling. And because tensions are always high after a match, especially if we've lost, people are always going to be angry and kneejerky.

I should also add that another thing that bothers me is the fact that because I don't think Everton are good enough for the top 6, or Mourinho or whoever won't come to us, other fans say people like me are why the club are shit, because we accept mediocrity and won't demand more. I honestly don't know how I personally can affect Everton, Marco Silva is not going to read my tweets and think 'oh shit better not play Sigurdsson' or whatever. Nor does he know me personally or what I think about the club.

It was luckily a minority of fans on sm and the forums but I too was shocked by the comments. Seamus was one of the first players who spotted the severity of the challenge and calling for the medics, he wasn't even on the pitch when it happened. He was visibly shocked and made sure all the Everton players were ok before going over to Son.
He is a credit to the club.

I agree that all the sympathy for Son was over the top, almost like he was the victim, but it worked and his red card has been overturned.

You might want to stay away from all the fume over that

Let's hope Gomes recovers well, we will miss him on the pitch.

Did he intended to hurt Gomes? I'm not so sure. I'm old enough to remember Keane deliberately hurting Haaland, football then and the fans were much more like the Everton 'fans' you are talking about.

I'm a huge football fan (St Johnstone in Scotland) and I never understand when this happens. Football players are all sports people and obviously feel for others if they are badly injured. Not denying that sometimes there might be malicious intent but that's not often.
Fans should be respectful of opposition players (unless they're total hammer throwers!), certainly when they get hurt.

"I should also add that another thing that bothers me is the fact that because I don't think Everton are good enough for the top 6, or Mourinho or whoever won't come to us, other fans say people like me are why the club are shit, because we accept mediocrity and won't demand more. "

Haha, that did make me laugh. I support a L1 club and if you change the names, word for word, that's exactly what happens on our forum too

I don't find the sexism actually. There is a wide range of "characters" who post but on the whole the ones I respect, the ones who can more or less string a sentence together, are very respectful to me and my views. It is very well moderated though which does help the quality of the debate a lot in comparison to one that I sometime visit which is for all L1 clubs.

It’s the whole online culture whereby you can slate players and have no comeback. Look at Granit Xhaka - not the best player at all, not a captain but he doesn’t deserve the abuse he’s had online about hoping his family die. It’s the culture of things such as Arsenal Fan TV that makes people believe they have a right to openly abuse players because the culture with them and online is the only way to be heard is to be as controversial as possible.

Most matchgoing fans can’t stand people like this online and are a lot more matter of fact and rational.

No he didn't mean to hurt Gomes but it was a reckless tackle from behind that it went horribly wrong.

I think it deserved a red card but really it doesn't matter.

Oh, I heard of this incident. It even made it to the sports section of our newspaper 'on the continent' ! And I'm not into football at all.

Son was described (by a teammate?) as a very nice guy who was deeply upset and would be offered psychological counseling.
The local news seemed to be quite sympathetic and portrayed him in an eminently positive light.

Anyhow... I do not get these kinds of 'extreme' (?) football fans. Liking a sport / team is ultimately a hobby. And hobbies are supposed to be fun/positive things in our lives (well, imo at least).

And yeah, social media is fucking toxic in a lot of areas. Assumed anonimity, echo chambers, the fact that the 'mainstram' doesn't seem to take it seriously enough to see it objectionable (in general)....

Another avid LFC c fan here who thinks the whole Gomes/Son thing was just so sad. You could see the devastation on Sons face. And I hate to see a talented player (your best player imo) potentially out for a year.

We had this with Oxalaide Chambers.

I'm pleased to see that Sons red card has been recinded.

As a previous poster has said, Everton stood with LFC when it mattered. That counts for an awful lot.

I'm sure you will (I hope you will) get out of the relegation zone.

Your manager is no Klopp (you didn't expect me NOT to have a dig, surley) but he seems like a decent bloke

I think the whole women fans aren’t respected by a lot of men is rubbish as well. Things have changed, I regularly interact with men on Twitter and they value my opinion. Until I post something against Arsenal Fan TV then all the kids come out saying I can’t be a real fan as I think it’s a load of rubbish.

I think sometimes fans forget that players are human beings not robots whose only loyalty is to their club. That they may be friends with fellow professionals playing for rival teams. That they share the same anxieties over injuries.

It is normal to feel awful if you are the cause of another player's injury. It is normal for other players to understand that 'there for the grace', it could happen to anyone.

I haven't seen the incident and won't be looking it up (I'm really squeamish about broken bones) but I've seen similar. Seen players turn green, cry, vomit. That's just human.

Totally agree philswag. I think football is a wonderful sport but it has this nasty streak with things such as racism and abuse. It’s a minority of fans but it’s a big problem.

I’m an Aston Villa fan and Jack Grealish gets abused about the fact his sibling died as a young child. It’s just inexplicable.

I cannot believe anyone thinks Son should have had a red card. It was a reckless challenge but it wasn’t that which caused the leg break, Gomes took a couple more paces before twisting. Yes it followed the tackle, but someone can lose their footing after any challenge. There was no causation, as we lawyers would say.

Oh and yes Marco Silva is a hottie, exceeded only by Pep in the premier league managers hottie table