England women to avoid 'awful' social media at European Championship
BURTON UPON TRENT, England - Alessia Russo, Lauren James and Lucy Bronze are among members of the England women's football team who plan to avoid social media at next month's European Championship in Switzerland because of its toxic environment.
Russo said she prefers to stay off it at major tournaments, including the 2023 Women's World Cup during which she had someone else run her Instagram account.
"I think every player might have a different story about that side of the game but it's definitely one that can be really damaging," the Arsenal forward told BBC Radio at St. George's Park.
"I have faced it in the past and I think most players here have. When I was younger I probably got sucked into it more. I read it more than I should have and listened to it more than I should have. The only opinions that matter are (those of) my teammates, my coaches and my family."
Russo's comments came after British tennis player Katie Boulter revealed she has received death threats to herself and members of her family after matches as players in that sport are increasingly subjected to online abuse through direct messages.
Chelsea forward Lauren James said the abuse never really stops.
"Sometimes it's not even to do with my performance, even when someone loses at FIFA (the EA Sports video game), my card scores against them and they're sending me abuse," James said.
"I guess when it's your first time, though, maybe it might touch someone, but I'm used to it. I'm going to just brush it off my shoulder."
Bronze said it was not just the players who receive negative comments.
"People write horrible things and obviously our families read it as well and it can be upsetting if you see something that's not very nice," the Chelsea defender said.
"Social media is amazing in one way and absolutely awful in another way. I think most of us have been off at some point."
England begin the defence of their European title against France on July 5. REUTERS
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
39 minutes ago
- Straits Times
'Nearly a dream', Argentina's Contepomi basks in unique Lions win
DUBLIN - Argentina coach Felipe Contepomi knew just how special and potentially unique Friday's victory over the British and Irish Lions was, having gone agonisingly close as a player two decades ago. Contepomi was captain when the sides last met before the Lions' 2005 tour of New Zealand, when the Pumas were a Johnny Wilkinson stoppage time penalty away from a first ever victory in the fixture. That game ended in a 25-25 draw, and Friday's contest was just Argentina's second shot at the Lions in almost a century. Their first six meetings were played during tours of Argentina when the Lions did not limit their itinerary to New Zealand, South Africa and Australia. Contepomi said they could not be sure when they would get the opportunity again. "It's kind of a one-off. It's an invitation game and the last time, it was 20 years ago, and we were just there and we couldn't beat them," Contepomi told a press conference. "Coming here 20 years later I think it's incredible. We don't know if we'll ever again be invited or not to play and definitely for everyone who's been involved this week it will be memorable." "It is special. I know how special it is for an Irish, a Scottish, a Welsh or an English player to be a Lion, and for us to play against the best of the best in these islands, it's nearly a dream." The former Argentina flyhalf, who knows British and Irish rugby well, having spent six seasons with Leinster and worked as a doctor during his time in Ireland, said he expected Australia to face a far more ferocious set of Lions next month. "We took a bit of an opportunity because I know they'll be much better in one month's time when they play Australia. They'll be an awesome team, because they have so much quality in there," he said. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
'No excuses' says Lions coach Farrell after Argentina loss
DUBLIN - Coach Andy Farrell had hoped for a tough game against Argentina before the British and Irish Lions boarded their flight for Australia and said his still gelling squad had no excuses after getting more than they bargained for in a 28-24 defeat. "We made it a tough game," a forthright Farrell said when asked if he got the kind of stern test he wanted and that the group's limited time together was no kind of mitigating factor. "I wouldn't give that excuse. We need to be better than that. They're Lions players." While Farrell said he was pleased with the Lions' aggressive scrummaging, the list of areas to improve was long: a "clunky" attack, breakdown, misfiring lineout, kicking game, throwing balls blindly away and battles in the air and on the ground. "It's too much, it's too much when it all comes together... The whole story of the game is that we compounded too many errors and in the end we weren't able to put the pace on the game that we wanted to because of that," Farrell said. "We need to be honest because if we're not honest, how do we gain trust with each other so we have to say it as it is. There were certain things that we said we were going to do and we need to own that." "Losing hurts, especially in this jersey so we need to find the solutions pretty quickly." Farrell had said he expected the Lions to have a fully fit squad in the next week with Jamison Gibson-Park, Hugo Keenan and Huw Jones working their way back to fitness, and at least appeared to come away unscathed on Friday. "Health wise we seem to have come away okay," he said. Centre Bundee Aki, one of the Lions' try scorers who said he was disappointed in his own performance and not connecting better with new centre partner Sione Tuipulotu, said Farrell had been just as forthright in the changing room. "He gives it to us straight, there's no mucking around and we're old enough to take it on the chin. Faz (Farrell) set out a challenge for us to win every game and we've just got to learn quickly," the Irish number 12 said. "You can feel the frustration of the boys in the changing room. (But) that's the great thing about rugby, there's always another couple of days to be able to rectify what was wrong so I'm sure we'll bounce back quickly as a group." REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Filipe Luis proud of Flamengo's resilience in win against Chelsea
Flamengo manager Filipe Luis said he was extremely proud of his team's resilience and composure as they fought back from a goal down to beat Chelsea 3-1 in their Club World Cup clash on Friday. It was a win that put the Brazilian side in pole position to finish on top of the Group D standings ahead of the tournament knockouts. Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca was tight-lipped after a red card for his star striker Nicolas Jackson essentially killed off any chance the Premier League club had of rescuing a result against Flamengo, only four minutes after coming on. WHY IT'S IMPORTANT: It was Jackson's second straight red in a little over a month, after he was also sent off for another rough challenge in a Premier League match against Newcastle. On that occasion, Maresca said Jackson should learn and improve. On Friday Jackson's reckless challenge left his team in a difficult situation, with the team finishing second in Group D facing the winners of a tough Group C featuring Bayern Munich, Benfica and Boca Juniors. Jackson will miss Chelsea's third and final group game against Esperance de Tunis on Wednesday. His absence will likely open the door for Liam Delap, the Blues' newest signing, for another start after he led the line-up against Flamengo. KEY QUOTES: Flamengo coach Filipe Luis: "I am very happy with the game. From the start, we always believed we had a chance. "I know the quality of European clubs, especially the elite of football. There are 12 clubs in the world that are part of the elite. I'm surprised by these results. They are not very used to the (hot and humid) climate. South Americans are very competitive, in the Libertadores it's very difficult to win, but the best doesn't always win." Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca: "It was a red card. So nothing to say. Congratulations to Flamengo, they deserved to win. I have not spoken yet with Jackson (about the red card). We tried to do something different, also for next season, for the future, but congratulations to them. I think they deserved it." Chelsea defender Marc Cucurella on Nicolas Jackson's red: "It is a bit of bad luck. He tried to put his foot in to kick the ball but he kicked the player's leg. That's it. We now miss him for the next game. He is a young player with a lot of quality and maybe he needs to improve this. We are not perfect, it's part of the game." REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
