When you visit a restaurant, do you cluster round the chef to shout words of encouragement? At the supermarket, do you blow your vuvuzela as the checkout operator swipes the final item? Of course not; it’s only footballers who expect this sort of support from the paying customer as a matter of course.
Wayne Rooney complained bitterly on Friday when fans booed England’s bore-draw performance against Algeria. (Could this sensitive flower really be the same Wayne Rooney we have seen swearing like a navvy at referees?)
Footballers are the only people who expect customers to do some of the work. If fans don’t “get behind the team” the players get depressed and give away the ball. Sometimes they do this even when the supporters are doing their bit.
Some fans have paid thousands of pounds to travel to South Africa. As they can’t very well ask the players for a refund, they have every right to boo. It’s football’s equivalent of customer feedback. If footballers don’t want to hear booing, they should play better. And maybe win the occasional game.