Leon Balogun has acknowledged that a change in fan abuse and an uptick in violence among football followers have scared him.
The Rangers centre back addressed inappropriate crowd yells during a FIFAPRO virtual conference, blaming social media for abuse that has “taken a turn for the worse”.
The 35-year-old Ibrox goalkeeper has observed a shift in the bar for fans who now accept insults, but it is evident that the majority of supporters do not engage in concerning behaviour.
A member of the FIFPRO Global Player Council named Balogun has cautioned that some fans feel they can mistreat players just based on the cost of their ticket.
He gave the following explanation: “I feel like the fans in the stadium have a lower bar now that they have constant access to the real me as a player, so some of them think they can do things that they really shouldn’t.”
“A small percentage of people believe that just because they paid for a ticket to enter the stadium, it gives them the right to mistreat you. Some people merely want to express their annoyance with you in an extremely improper manner.
“Since I became a professional 16 years ago, it has evolved. With the advent and growth of social media, things have gotten worse.”
Eighty-five percent of player unions concur that the bond between fans and players is positive and ought to be treasured, according to a workplace safety research.
But 76 percent of respondents agreed that sections of fan culture have “become increasingly more violent and abusive,” and 66 percent indicated that workplace safety is becoming a bigger worry for football players.
“It has definitely become more violent with the spread and rise of social media,” Balogun continued.
“I believe there has always been a violent culture in football among a tiny number of followers.
“But what players and managers are exposed to in the stadium with the physical and the verbal abuse, the threshold seems to go lower and lower, and people are just not scared – and that’s what’s frightening to me.”
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