This photo belongs to Twitter and all credit for the photo goes towards Twitter. We are merely using the photo as a method of presentation are not making any money off it.
Following the latest Twitter scandal regarding Ashley Cole, which was the most recent of many scandals created by footballers using the social network, the question many are asking is that should footballers be banned from using Twitter?
It is becoming a recurring theme for professional footballers to follow suit with the advancing trend of social media, therefore opening their own Twitter accounts in particular in order to engage with their fans and to give an insight to people of the real person they are. They want to display to us that they are just like us, a normal person that just so happens to be good at football and in the most part this works, but the few occasions in which a footballer has used the medium of Twitter in order to criticise their club’s owners, the FA, a referee etc. has been so well publicised that Twitter usage by footballers has almost been condemned by the general public. Yes there are some idiotic footballers that abuse their right to free speech and use social media in order to let out their frustration for something, but there are many footballers who use Twitter how celebrities should intend to use it, to communicate with their fans and to show that they’re a normal human being just like their followers. It is just the few that don’t understand how to properly use Twitter that outshadow the vast majority that do. However, there does seem to be a pattern on who does use Twitter correctly and who doesn’t. It always seems to be that the footballers who are involved in Twitter scandals tend to be the higher profile, possibly egotistical footballers such as Ashley Cole, Joey Barton etc.
So how do we tackle this situation? I am of the opinion that initially all footballers should be given permission to open their own Twitter accounts, otherwise not granting them this privilege could be seen as a breach of their right to free speech and that could cause all sorts of problems. However, if one abuses this privilege and commits a misdemeanor using Twitter, they should be asked to close down their account plus depending on the seriousness of the misdemeanor, disciplinary action. If the player refuses to do so, they should face major disciplinary action both internally (through the club) and externally (the FA, UEFA or whoever it may concern) with remorse.
What do you think? Feel free to voice your views on the topic in the comments below. Also, follow us on Twitter @gameofninety, tell your friends about our blog if you like it and if you have any feedback or constructive criticism you wish to tell me, please feel free to email us at gameofninety@gmail.com. I am open to hearing anything that could help my blog progress, as long as it is constructive and not hateful. Thanks a lot!
Game of Ninety 