BILLY BREMNER MEMORIAL JOIN OUR CAMPAIGN
Date: 3rd February 2025
I listen to Talksport most mornings. Yesterday (28th Jan), they had a lot of chat about David Coote, the former top-flight referee who was sacked for his comments about Jurgen Klopp and his alleged drug-taking. He has since come out as gay and explained to The Sun that the pressure he felt under to keep that hidden contributed to his behaviour.
Over the last few days, we’ve heard from more referees, especially after the blunder by English officials (in particular those who were the VARs in each case) in sending off of Arsenal’s Myles Lewis-Skelly and Nick Walsh’s sending off Rangers’ Mohamed Diomande (a decision quickly rescinded by the football authorities).
As a result, we’ve also heard from many officials, live on air or via messaging to the media, of the constant abuse, including death threats, text hoping their families die of cancer and other explicit and vile comments from the keyboard gangsters who seem to revel in abusing others on social media. Away from the world of refereeing, we’ve just seen Stuart Kettlewell resign as a result of social media abuse.
Bad as all these things are, it’s even worse in the women’s game. The SFSA’s Lead on women’s football, Sinead Ramsey, has been analysing the results of our recent survey on social media abuse as it affects women in football and, I am sorry, but unsurprised, to say, they are shocking. Our full report will be available in the next 10 days and Sinead and I will be available to take questions from the media at that time.
Alastair Blair, Director of Operations, SFSA
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