Social media growth has made life a living hell for footballers — Leon Balogun

Johnson OpeisaMarch 6, 20241 Mins read196

Super Eagles of Nigeria defender Leon Balogun has faulted the growth of social media as a major enhancement to the rise of verbal abuse aimed at footballers globally.

Balogun who currently plies his trade at Rangers FC in the Scottish Premier League, doubles as a council member of FIFPRO’s Global Player Council, through which he asserted that the seemingly unrestricted media access fans in football have today is to the detriment of players’ lives.

“I have this feeling that this constant access to the real me as a player has lowered the threshold for fans in the stadium to a point where some think they are entitled to do things which they really aren’t,” Balogun said whilst dissecting players’ workplace safety on FIFPRO’s X (formerly Twitter) space on Tuesday.

The ex-Mainz 05 defender continued, “Some people, not the majority, feel because they have paid for a ticket to come to the stadium that it somehow automatically gives them the right to abuse you. There are people who just want to voice their frustration at you in a very inappropriate way.

“It has developed over the last 16 years since I’ve been a professional. It has taken a turn for the worse with the introduction and rise of social media.”

Balogun called for the need for an open dialogue to address this prevalent violence, while he also clamoured for a code of conduct to keep perpetrators tightly in check.

He said, “We should be able to agree on a code of conduct, and I think we all know what is right and what isn’t.

“We’re in times where in general we need to look out for each other – it doesn’t matter where you’re from, it doesn’t matter what you earn, it doesn’t matter if you work in a public space or not.

“Ultimately, we all need to get along and create an environment where everybody feels safe to express themselves and to voice their opinion without harming one another. If we can remind ourselves of that every now and then, I think a huge part will be done,” the Super Eagles star concluded.