What if the Premier League took the same direction as what Turkish football is currently experiencing? This is the not very reassuring prediction made by an English journalist.
Whether in France or elsewhere in Europe, football is regularly – and increasingly – affected by violence and its sometimes dramatic consequences. Coach stone stone near Marseille, supporter died in Nantes, Ligue 1 one has experienced its share of tragic events. In Greece, the championship is now behind closed doors until February 12, following violence that occurred last Thursday around a volleyball match in Athens. In Turkey, the attack on a referee beaten by the president of the Ankara club, Faruk Koca, then severely beaten on the ground by Ankaragücü players pushed the federation to immediately suspend all its championships, until at further notice. Seen from England, concern is also rearing its ugly head.
Journalist at Dailymail and keen observer of the evolution of English football, Oliver Holt spoke this Tuesday about what could happen in the Premier League if certain players are not on their guard. In his mood post, he therefore started from the incident that occurred in Turkey. “ A referee received a punch from a club president at the end of a complicated match in a major European league. And if we are short-sighted, complacent or stupid, we risk treating this as just a distant curiosity and moving on thinking it happened in Turkey but ‘it could never happen here’. But the truth is, it could happen to us.“
Haaland, not a good example
For Olivier Holt, the Premier League as a whole would be well advised to learn lessons from what has happened recently. “ The truth is that unless players, coaches and managers in English football start to change their behavior towards officials, it will happen here. » And the journalist mentions the system of example from above which is very important for the lower Leagues. “ The truth is that at the grassroots level in our sport, where players and managers are heavily influenced by the increasingly inconsistent behavior they see in the Premier League, where referees are not as protected , this is already happening.“
A problem that is found in other countries, in France in particular. Oliver Holt also recalled a sad and problematic observation regarding this increase in violence around, and now on, football fields. “ Thousands of referees are leaving grassroots football in England because they are no longer prepared to put up with the increasing level of abuse and intimidation from players and coaches. The behavior of men like Manchester City striker Erling Haaland and Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta certainly hasn’t helped. » Will this call for awareness be heard?
