I LOVE Twitter. I spend a lot of time on the social networking site. I talk about Liverpool, my rugby team St Helens, my life in general. But under this, I have a dark secret. I am an internet terrorist.
As part of the group Kop Faithful (the group to which Tom Hicks would add the infamous label “internet terrorists”) myself and many thousands of Liverpool fans bombarded the Blackstone bank with e-mails, advising them not to finance the cowboys.
It worked, the bank told Hicks the deal was off. Eventually, his grasping hands were removed from around the throat of the club and he was sent packing to Texas, skint.
Being a part of Kop Faithful is one of the proudest moments of my life. It was at this point that I became a regular Twitter user and enjoyed speaking to and meeting other Reds. However, since that day, Twitter has become a double edged sword. Great to read opinions, but with the right to opinion it also opens up the chance for nuggets to get their ridiculous opinions across. Of course it’s a minority but I’m afraid that he who shouts loudest is heard. And that goes for the annoying Twitter ITK’s as well, who know as much about the transfers at Liverpool than I do about opera singing.
And the keyboard warriors were out in force yesterday evening. It’s embarrassing for the club, and it’s embarrassing for us as fans. Some of the tweets (not that it’s exclusive to Twitter) about Mark Halsey were shocking, there’s no other word for it. Mr Halsey has overcome massive obstacles in his life to see off cancer, and members of his family are also fighting the horrible illness.
To make the sort of comments, which I won’t repeat due to their truly disgusting nature, you have to be wrong in the head. There’s no other way to say it. This is sport we’re dealing with. Football and rugby are my life, my hobbies and my passion, but at the end of the day it’s sport. It’s not life or death. The old quote goes “it’s more important than that” but we all know that’s not true. And with the tragedy we as a football club have had to endure in our history, we of all should know how precious life is and how sport takes a back seat to life.
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Since the 12th September, such a historic day, the country (apart from the usual suspects who don’t want to face the real truth) has begun to change its perception of Liverpool fans. Now it’s out there (for a second time) that ours fans were the totally innocent victims of gross negligence and then a disgraceful cover up, we have begun to receive some understanding. But buffoons who come out and say things like they did about Mark Halsey are putting this at risk. It takes an incredible type of moron to make comments about cancer as it is, but to do it now when the campaign for justice is just beginning, now that we have truth, could be extremely damaging.
I cannot begin to defend Mark Halsey’s performance as a match official on Sunday, I thought he was so bad it was one of the top three poorest refereeing displays I’ve ever seen. But to bring an illness, an illness which he has beaten but continues to attempt to pray on his loved ones, into any debate, is unspeakably horrific. Mr Halsey has complained to Greater Manchester Police about comments made. I hope every person involved is punished severely. Not only is it morally wrong, it is damaging to the club and us as fans.
Obviously it’s a tiny minority but we don’t need these people anywhere near the club. This minority spoil it for everyone and the rise of the Twitter troll needs to be addressed. There are too many people who have access to a keyboard and don’t think about what they write. Writing things in the heat of the moment is easy, but in the hands of some people, very unwise.
If I was to tweet about the referee’s performance, it would be to call him an absolute disgrace. I think he was. Unintentionally, I think he has cheated us out of a chance to win the game, or at least get a draw. But one thing I would categorically not mention is the fact he had throat cancer only to admire him for beating it and coming back to being a full time official.
Yes he made mistakes, yes his performance was poisonous, yes he cost us a result, but that’s it. It’s football. It happens. It’s just sport. These Twitter trolls need to realise that their ridiculous and frankly wicked comments, which for me are beneath contempt they are that pathetic, affect us all. Their views are not welcome and I for one hope they are named, shamed and punished.
Mr Halsey, I think you should be ashamed of what you did to Liverpool on Sunday, but as far as your fight against cancer goes, I have nothing but respect for you and nothing but well wishes to you and your family.
It’s football. Not life or death.
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i agree they are scum but you are right internet trolls has anybody said who they are. i can open an account and say i am anybody and support any team,whoever they are lets hope they get a visit off the police but lets find out who they are first
Nice thing is their actions are traceable. Hopefully the Club will act along with the Police and van them for life. That goes along with the nitwits who are surely on CCTV footage at the stadium making airplane taunts at the Utd scum that were taunting them. They blew the chance for all LFC supporters to take the moral high ground and point out to the world how MUFC supporters really are.
actually the referee hurt the fight for justice 96..
u see he make a rlly bad bad decision. nad he not apologize for his mistake. and now making a police reports??? huh! how dare he do that. he deserve to be given such tweet at twitter.
Something tells me someone completely missed the point of the article.
so what if morons make disrespectful or spiteful comments , there will always be idiots who want to stir or attack someone , you will never stop it . in my opinion things like twitter is like a haven for idiots to air their views and bringing attention to it gives them the attention they crave .
people like this dont deserve notice , so just ignore and dismiss . by the way halsey you are a disgrace to your profession for sundays performance and should never ref again . its not just honest mistakes , its letting ferguson influence him ,and ( like others ) having prejudice against suarez .
Twitter remarks such as these will always be around, as there will always be brainless people about who write them.
Sunday was an emotional game, firstly for the 96 and secondly because of the arch rivalry.
The referee was so bad on Sundsy, that his poor performance awoke emotions, options that go further the some, namely the brainless idiots.
The EPL may well be the most competitive or best league in the world, but the referees are some of the worse. If this issue is not resolved we will continue to have problems like this, not that they will ever go away.