Latest knee-jerk reaction highlights growing issue of online abuse

As the referee blew his full-time whistle at the Wankdorf Stadium this afternoon, the reaction on social media to Manchester United’s defeat was as predictable as ever. Clearly, some of the users online should’ve been in attendance at the beautifully named ground.

One user on Twitter, who had not tweeted for over two months after being exposed as a racist, fittingly revived his ‘OleOut’ agenda after United’s fifth game of the season. In a sport where victories are supposed to be celebrated, gaining traction online through abuse seems to be a far more attractive proposition for some.

Another user, also known for online bullying, stated ‘enough is enough’. Clearly, these people are outraged at the performance of the manager with the third-best win percentage in Manchester United’s history. May I remind you, the club was founded in 1878.

Positive reinforcement, or simply getting behind someone, is scarce on social media. Join one of the popular platforms and you’ll soon learn it’s not a place for positivity. Last season, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Anthony Martial, and Fred all turned off their Instagram comments after a wave of racial abuse.

To put tonight’s game into perspective, although it’s still early days, Manchester United are top of the Premier League and twice the team they have ever been since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement. United were staring mediocrity in the eye until Ole Gunnar Solskjaer resuscitated the side.

There is a fair discussion to be had over Solskjaer’s experience as a manager before he returned to the club but before that, a sincere ‘thank you’ is warranted – at least from me, it is.

You won’t find techy analysis or an unnecessary heatmap in this article but clearly, the idea of social media acting as a ‘sanctuary’ to get away from the toxic realities of life has been lost.

Instead, you’re left with a neverending tirade from various people who have no intention other than to extend their miserable lives to the public eye.

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1 Comment

  1. You are supposed to learn from your mistakes, look at last year when we somehow qualified for The Europa League.
    Tell me what we have won under Solskjaer?
    Look at the backing he has had, last night was awful and any manager worth his salt with the squad available to him would have come away from Switzerland with 3 points.
    The substitutions were a joke, I’m done with this manager.

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