Male footballers are becoming increasingly concerned for their physical safety while at work, with a majority believing that fan culture in the men’s game has “become increasingly more violent and abusive”, research has found.
A survey of 41 national players’ unions forms the core of a report by the international union Fifpro that paints a troubling picture of the stress players are being put under by their own supporters, after a post-pandemic rise in physical and verbal attacks.
According to the survey, 76% of respondents said workplace safety and health was of growing concern to players. Further results showed that 68% thought there was a “strain within football culture” associated with violence and abuse, and 66% thought fan culture had become more violent and abusive in recent years.
At the same time, 85% of respondents agreed with the statement that “in most instances the relationship between fans and players is very positive and should be cherished”.
The “men’s workplace safety report”, the first of its kind, comes after 12 months of high-profile incidents of violence across European football. These include head injuries sustained by Ajax’s Davy Klaassen and an attack on the Sevilla goalkeeper Marko Dmitrovic, but also attacks on team buses including that of Lyon which left the then coach Fabio Grosso seriously injured and caused a fixture against Marseille to be suspended.
The report seeks to identify the concerns of players in their workplace but also to quantify the problems they have faced. Thrown objects was the most commonly cited issue, with 66% of respondents reporting it. Just under half reported pyrotechnics on the pitch and offensive chanting; 29% mentioned team buses being attacked; 22% cited rioting; 20% pitch invasions; and 12% of unions said that members had experienced physical assault.
The report also postulates some reasons as to the cause of a perceived increase in aggression. Of those polled, 78% said social media had changed the boundaries between players and fans. One player, quoted anonymously, said social media had allowed “constant access to the real me as a player”, which in turn had “lowered the threshold for fans in the stadium to a point where some think they are entitled to do things which they really aren’t”.
Unions call for tougher action against perpetrators and an increased use of banning orders. But the strongest call is for greater education, to create a “fan culture which does not tolerate abuse”. The report acknowledges, however, that “most fans already do not participate in abuse” and that tackling the attitude among an “entrenched” minority “presents a large challenge”.
