Football clubs are increasingly using a short, sharp shock strategy to warn their players about the potential pitfalls of communication via social media.
Fulham, the Sky Bet Championship club, brought in an internet safety expert to teach young players an early, practical lesson that would shock them into being more cautious about how they behave when using such sites. They were recently sent Facebook messages by the expert who was posing as a 16-year-old girl claiming to be a supporter.
“Some of the young players fell for it as real,” Kit Symons, who was Fulham manager until November, said. “It was a short, sharp shock. You can tell lads about getting caught out and they’ll think, ‘oh they won’t catch me’ and then that happens, they are caught.”
The aim, for Symons, was about creating a culture where decent behaviour is valued and that begins with the players at the academy.
“When parents come in at Fulham we say we’ll make your son a better footballer and a better person as well,” Symons said.
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The FA has a code of conduct for social media use and will, upon request, visit clubs to answer broader queries about topical issues and the use of sites such as Instagram and Facebook.
While, for example, a player will not be breaking any FA rules if he sends an intimate photograph to his girlfriend, the FA will remind him that a present girlfriend can easily become an ex-girlfriend, so would he be happy about the image being shared on a public platform.
“You strive to make the club a reflection on your own values and if a player did something against those values you’d feel let down,” Symons said.
“There are 30 lads you are father to. You hope when they are away from the working environment that their decision-making is sound.”
Symons argues that any group of young lads would have an obligation to remember they represent their employer when out for the night or using social media but that there is an extra onus on footballers to be more careful.
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“For players, it’s more than that, they are representing the club, there are fans too, so it’s an obligation. It’s the best job in the world but there is an obligation to be a bit better behaved.”