Everton Women supporters group issue statement after Mary Earps incident
Peter McFarlane, the Secretary of the Everton Women Official Supporters Club, has called for action to be taken after Manchester United goalkeeper Mary Earps was abused online.
Earps received backlash online from a parent for not stopping to speak to their child after Manchester United’s Women’s Super League win against Everton Women.
McFarlane has claimed that incidents like this will be a step backwards for the growth of the women’s game and for the connection between the fans and the supporters of these clubs.
McFarlane’s statement, as shared by the Liverpool Echo [31 October], read: “Unfortunately, it seems to be a common theme these days that people tend to go to these matches not solely to support the players or watch the matches.
“As supporters, it’s our job to go there and support and the only thing we can expect in return is that the players give their all for 90 minutes. Anything beyond that is not expected, certainly not included in your ticket.”
A bad look for the game
Abuse happens at all levels of football, from grassroots to the very top of the men’s game, but for the women’s game especially, incidents like this could have a particularly damaging effect.
Very quickly, the women’s game has gone from being community-focused, where a few loyal fans would attend home games and the occasional away game, to a global spectacle attracting fans from all around the world to attend and view these games.
For the players and the loyal fans, this rise has been both a positive and a negative. More eyes and therefore more money on the game is always a positive, but incidents like this one are the negative of attracting such a widespread audience.
Expectations of the players tend to overlook the fact that they are just people, and the online abuse targeted at them, especially Earps in this situation, is an unacceptable but seemingly inevitable byproduct of the expansion of the women’s game.
In other Everton news, Kieran Maguire has shared yet another concern for the 777 takeover.