Coventry City call on fans to refrain sending abuse to players via social media
Coventry City have called on fans to refrain from sending abusive and offensive messages to players via social media.
Steve Waggott, development director of Coventry City Football Club, said that while players understood they may come in for criticism via forums such as Twitter or Facebook, recent messages directed at Jordan Clarke were unacceptable.
He said: “I think most players accept that if they engage in social media there are both positives and negatives.
“While criticising an individual player’s performance in a match is not particularly helpful or constructive, we cannot stop that.
“However, in these instances, they went way past the mark and were no longer criticism of a player or performance but out-and-out abuse and I am sure every right-minded Coventry City supporter would condemn such behaviour.”
Full-back Jordan Clarke, who spoke out about racism and prejudice at a recent Kick It Out event at the Ricoh Arena, added: “I can take criticism when it’s about football. When you play professional football or you are in the public eye, that’s what happens and you have to take the rough with the smooth from that point of view.
“But there is just no place in football or society for racism, it’s as simple as that.”