Australia head coach Justin Langer believes young sports stars should steer clear of social media amidst another week of online incidents.
Langer’s timely comments come as the Premier League said it had filed an official police complaint against a person responsible for abusing Brighton’s Neal Maupay online.
Threatening and abusive messages received by the Seagulls forward were reported to the league via its online abuse reporting system and an investigations team have since worked with the club and player.
Premier League investigators believe they have tracked the location of the person responsible to Singapore and have now filed an official police complaint, in addition to liaising with local authorities.
Following serious online abuse received by @OfficialBHAFC player Neal Maupay, the #PL has provided support to the player and club in investigating the incident and is bringing legal action against the person responsible: https://t.co/nxBr9kQmPapic.twitter.com/f1al5q7iKU— Premier League (@premierleague) August 13, 2020
Maupay is one of many Premier League players to have received abuse on social media, with Manchester United defender Phil Jones mocked on Twitter by its official UK account on Tuesday.
A post from the verified @TwitterUK account said: “Name a better footballer than Phil Jones.”
After United were understood to have complained to the network, Twitter deleted the post and apologised to the England international.
Langer, when speaking on Charlie Webster’s ‘My Sporting Mind’ podcast, discussed the negative impact social media can have.
He said: “If I could give any young player any advice, actually if I could give anyone any advice that is in the public eye, it is zero social media.
“I say that because I don’t need any stranger telling me how good I am and more importantly I don’t need strangers telling me how bad I am because I know if I am playing well, I know if I am playing poorly. I don’t need strangers telling me that.
“What I do need is the people who I respect, my family and friends, they will let me know.
“You talk about mental health, you have to be so flipping tough if you think you can get through that and you learn about that through wisdom and experience.”
England bowler Jofra Archer revealed last month he suffered racist abuse on Instagram, which followed him being racially abused in person by a spectator in New Zealand in 2019.
Australia head coach Langer admitted he was shocked by some of comments his squad were on the receiving end of last year during the World Cup and Ashes in England.
“One of my pet hates in life is people pay their 20 quid or 20 bucks and they come and watch a sporting game and think they can say whatever they want,” the former opener added.
🚨Thursday! Excited to welcome @CricketAus head coach Justin Langer to this week’s My Sporting Mind 🙌— Charlie Webster (@CharlieCW) August 13, 2020
“They abuse people who are trying so hard out on the field and they say whatever they want and people say ‘ah you need to have a sense of humour’. Are you kidding me?
“Some of the things we were exposed to in England last year during the World Cup and Ashes, I cannot believe it. It was from parents who had their little kids next to them.
“It just doesn’t make any sense to me. But ‘oh well you get paid a lot of money so harden up?’ Man, if people said that to my children I would be shattered and my players become my kids and you feel for them.
“It is part of what we choose to go in to and I get all that, but it is still common decency and curtsy and it is really lacking in our communities today.”
