World Cup qual. - To boo or not to boo?

Eurosport - Mon, 13 Oct 11:47:00 2008

Fabio Capello, Rio Ferdinand and even the FA have condemned the jeers that greeted Ashley Cole as England struggled against Kazakhstan at Wembley. But do the fans reserve the right to express their frustration?

FOOTBALL 2008 - Ashley Cole of England challenged by Sabyrkhan Ibrayev of Kazakhstan in a World Cup qualifier - 0

"I couldn't understand the crowd booing Ashley Cole after he made a mistake," a bemused Capello said afterwards. "It is possible for one player to make mistake. It is very important that the crowd help him and not boo him."

The English club game has a long tradition of fans booing their own players. There is a sense that our loyalty ought to be backed up by their exertions and sometimes success; that anything less than the proverbial 110 per cent is simply unacceptable.

On the face of it, such a stance seems honourable: after all, aren't these men paid handsomely to do what many of us fork out hundreds of pounds a year to enjoy every weekend? Isn't it the duty of the man in the stands to remind the cosseted, lucky few that they should be grateful to be out there?

"People have obviously paid their money and have every right to express their opinion," Football Supporters' Federation international co-ordinator Kevin Miles reflected.

The FA is often criticised for being out of touch with the needs of the supporters, not to mention clubs and pretty much everyone with a vested interest in the game. So what did they have to say on the subject?

"It is crazy that a section of our own supporters are booing one of our own players," read a spokesman. "That is clearly not going to help the team during the course of a game, and certainly not the individual being booed. Unfortunately, we are all aware that we have had problems of this kind since we have come back to the new Wembley."

Cole, like Chelsea team-mate Frank Lampard, seems to be someone who inspires ire in the fans of opposing clubs - and that sometimes boils over into the international arena.

If we put personal feelings aside, the debate comes down to balancing the good of the team against the wish to vent our collective spleen. Do we sit back - having paid over £50 for a ticket with the desire of seeing England win, and entertain - and watch numbly, or with good grace, as they struggle to overcome a nation ranked between Hong Kong and Singapore by FIFA? Or do we get our 'money's worth' and give 'em a piece of our mind?

The FA spokesman had this to say on the benefits of supporting the player: "Several players have said they were encouraged to see large numbers in the crowd applauding Ashley Cole to counter-balance those booing him. It is unfair on all the fans who have come to the game with the best intentions of supporting the team throughout."

And Miles: "There are two sides to it: I personally believe once the team have gone out there and are playing, fans should do what they can to try to improve or support what they are trying to do. I can't imagine a situation in which a player being booed every time he touches the ball is going to feel lifted by the experience. Clearly Ashley Cole made a mistake for their goal, but he's still got to carry on playing the rest of the game and we wanted to move forward from that rather than compound it."

There are copious incidents of this kind at club level: recently Emmanuel Adebayor was slammed by his own fans at Arsenal for what they perceived as a desperate bid during the summer to leave for a major club elsewhere in Europe.

It is important to make a distinction here between such a situation and that which occurs in the international fold. At the clubs the fans can rightly point to the fact that they help pay inflated wages through gate receipts and merchandise; when it comes to England, however, those players are playing exclusively for the honour of being selected to represent their country.

They are 'lucky', the so-called boo-boys may say, to be wearing the famous Three Lions shirt. But, as people who cannot hide their uglier emotions for 90 minutes as a fan, would they themselves put up with the abuse raining down - or would they react in the same way and give some back? It is very rare to see a player, whatever the circumstances, stooping to that level.

It is quite clear that booing does not help. What is needed is a level of understanding between player and fan, of acceptance that they are trying their best to give us what we want. Chris Iwelumo, having missed a sitter playing for Scotland against Norway - in a game that finished goalless - shed some light on the matter from the other side.

"After the miss, I couldn't believe the reaction from the fans and that just shows you what they are all about," he said. "The Ashley Cole situation is one that I can't really comprehend. If England have fans doing that, it makes no sense to me. They won 5-1 last night... they are a bunch of fantastic players and Ashley Cole is world class.

"If people are judging him on what they read in the papers, that's wrong."

The key is positive support, not restrained silence: it breeds confidence; it gives rise to a mutually beneficial relationship between those on the pitch and those watching; and it leaves the fan with a sense that they have done their bit, if nothing else.

Many football fans are like this: however they tend to be either those with little track record of success - no disrespect intended to Scotland - or those in the midst of a successful run.

As with Ferdinand before him, Adebayor has learned that all you have to do to keep irate, suspicious followers off your back is to play well. Had Cole not made a mistake, he would not have been vilified: but it is that culture, bred by over-zealous newspaper reporting hinted at by Iwelumo, that is the real culprit.

Jonathan Symcox / Eurosport

Comment 88 - 107 of 127

Sort comments by: Most recent

  1. What makes a game of football interesting is those things that are out of the norn, and the expected. Otherwise we could all be watching penalty shootout if it were just scores that matter. What Cole did provides us with something to talk, or write about. if nobody made mistakes then nobody would loose or win anything.lets turn all negatives into possitives

    From victor, on Mon 13 Oct 8:41AM

  2. A lot of people defend 'booing' by claiming they have a right to voice their opinion. Even if that is true (and by the way boo'ing someone in public would constitute harassment) - why do you think your opinion matters? Do you think the player is going to think 'oh no, Mr Jones in seat F5 is angry at me, I'd better try now'? Get real. You aren't significant, and all you can achieve collectively by booing is making the players feel uneasy at their home ground.

    From Johnny W, on Mon 13 Oct 8:35AM

  3. Fans of any other sport realise that they are paying for the privilege to watch the best players in the world - not to compromise their performance by being arrogant morons.

    You football fans who agree with the boo'ing are an international embarrassment, and England would be better without you.

    From Johnny W, on Mon 13 Oct 8:32AM

  4. Just because the players are highly paid doesn't give you the right to 'boo' players. Football is the biggest game in the world, and of course when you play for one of the top clubs in the world in the top game in the world (aka Chelsea) you will inevitably get paid a lot of money. It seems to me like people are just jealous that footballers have made a success out of their lives.

    What do you hope to achieve by 'booing'? Are you aiming to improve the performance of your team? If so, you're an idiot. Are you aiming to make the player in question feel worse so he 'learns'? If so, you're an idiot. It has no positive effect at all, and makes the whole team play worse. No true football fan will ever boo his own team.

    From Johnny W, on Mon 13 Oct 8:28AM

  5. Still ashamed to be English reading how arrogant and naive most English fans are.

    Just because you pay to watch a match doesn't mean you can 'demand' ANYTHING from ANYONE. You chose to pay to view the match, nobody forced you, and a £50 entry fee does NOT MEAN YOU OWN THE PLAYERS OR THE TEAM OR GIVE YOU ANY 'RIGHTS', other than the right to watch. That's not to say you CAN'T boo - it just means it's stupid and pointless when you do.

    From Johnny W, on Mon 13 Oct 8:28AM

  6. Rio expressed dismay at the fans booing Ashley Cole I find that laughable, Are they not the same players that week in week out scream and shout abuse at the Refs? Cole is perhaps one of the major culprits for disrespecting officals when they make mistakes so what is the difference none! Wake up Rio I'd give anything to play for England and the fans could boo all they wanted and I would still have a smile on my face ( and the healthy bank balance would help aswell ).Just keep winning and ignore it..

    From Ricky, on Mon 13 Oct 7:25AM

  7. Those fans who booed and those of you who think it's ok to boo are a bag of @#$%, I watch my son play and I see the those parents who rant and moan at their kids and the kids heads go down, and no it's not any difference just because most of these players are paid ridiculous amounts of money, it's a typical English disease, we only sing when we are winning, grow the f@*k up or don't say nothing

    From Demobpunk, on Mon 13 Oct 7:01AM

  8. BOOO IF YOU MUST BETTER STILL DO OT PAY £50 TO WATCH SECOND RATERS YOU CAN WATCH THE TV AND JUST TURN IT OFF THE PLAYERS ARE JUST MONEY GRABBING @#$% TO START WITH KEEP AWAY IS THE ONLY WAY FROM THE GAMES GOLD MEDAL WINNERS ARE MUCH BETTER THAN FOOTBALL NONE WINNERS MR FOX

    From mr fox, on Mon 13 Oct 6:57AM

  9. Fans pay a lot of money to watch their "heroes" nowadays so I feel they are totally within their rights to display their disapproval by booing. Lets face it, all of the stars have the opportunity to mouth off on this and that, in the newspapers or other forms of media, and booing, is the only way that fans, who expect a certain degree of professionalism from their team, can vent their feelings. Sadly, not being able to take the flack is indicative of the way that these overpaid, spoiled people perceive everybody else nowadays and may be an indication why they haven't been able to perform at the highest level for two generations.

    From Roger B, on Mon 13 Oct 5:53AM

  10. course fans should get the right to do this
    they have voices too you know and also they are the back bone of the club the morale boosters and if they don't like whats happening give their side a reality check

    From chicken salad, on Mon 13 Oct 5:50AM

  11. WTF?do the supporters think england players too perfect?god maybe?cant do a 1 or 2 mistake?are you guys a fan or what?grow up nothing is perfect..players are human too..they need support to play better not complains everytime under-rated..is fact..england can lose too..if you guys think like this and to give the supports England never win anything!!

    From juyn z, on Mon 13 Oct 5:16AM

  12. Harsh! The debate is a moment of madness or as it appeared pure arrogance and disrespect for the opposition. Schools boys know better never to pass a ball across their own area, up and over or out of play please! A momentary response from the crowd is understandable but constant boo's come on not british

    From Mitchel, on Mon 13 Oct 4:47AM

  13. You English fans are really quite amusing, when your not beating up on some opposing fan, you beat up on your own players. You seem to think that you have the best football team in the world and yet you have not looked likely to a major trophey in 40 or more years. You might do a little better if you supported your team and encouraged them to go out and play their hearts out with pride. Instead your players are petrified of playing at home because of unrealistic expectations, now if you were Brazi,l or Germany, or Italy, or Argentina shall we say you, might have something to complain about. You get what you deserve in this world and as the worlds worst supporters you get the worlds most underachieving side. You sad F@#$%kers

    From Peter, on Mon 13 Oct 4:42AM

  14. I think fans simply trying to send their message...rest him, let him learn from the situation. Otherwise, he will never learn.

    From abeleekelate, on Mon 13 Oct 3:47AM

  15. Every footballer make mistakes but were they being booed everytime they made mistake? I don't think so. This particular one was very bad mistake made by very arrogant player. Didn't he deserve it? I bet even other players could feel it but they just couldn't express their frustration.

    From abeleekelate, on Mon 13 Oct 3:41AM

  16. Well, one thing is for sure, it shall be sour grapes again in 2010 as the English prove that they are just a bunch of consistently boring, underperforming and uninspiring underachievers.

    From sappercommando25, on Mon 13 Oct 3:18AM

  17. Any fan shelling out for a ticket to see a football match these days, whether for club or country, deserves the right to show their true feelings. In any case there is not, and probably never will be again, the same feeling for the national side that we have for our own clubs. Country before Club? Not for the average fan.

    From Paperboy, on Mon 13 Oct 2:54AM

  18. Players like Steven Gerrad have turned back on country lets face it even fans have become more intersted in club football than country and that is where the probolem lies

    From Robert, on Mon 13 Oct 2:29AM

  19. o.k. you want us to be part of the team and support the lads,,...?
    why not build a 150,000 stadium then and let us watch for free.
    why not give us a bit of bloody support 4 a change...!
    you expect us to waste our life savings supporting the engerland(and we do)
    while the players get paid millions..........?
    and we pay millions.......?
    LEND US A FIVA RIO,
    England till I die..........................................EOM

    From Adam B, on Mon 13 Oct 2:25AM

  20. FOR ALL OF YOU BOOOOOOERS OUT THERE
    YES HE MADE A BIG BIG F-CK UP A TERRIBLE MISTAKE
    BUT NOT AS BAD AS WHEN YOUR MUMMY AND DADDY MADE YOU

    From Russell P, on Mon 13 Oct 2:22AM
Sort comments by: Most recent

Not already a Yahoo! user ? to get a free Yahoo! Account