Online schoolboy errors like Marc Bola’s do not deserve public shaming
I was delighted to talk to Sam Wallace at the Telegraph for his Comment piece on the recent decision by the FA to investigate Middlesbrough player Marc Bola over a Tweet posted 9 years ago, when he was 14 years old.
The piece can be read in full on the Telegraph website here:
The lawyer Matt Himsworth, who is a director of B5 Consultancy, which advises and supports clubs on digital communications, says a trend for disgruntled opposition fans digging up players’ historic social media content is now spreading from the Premier League to the Football League. He and his colleagues advise of risk and help players to “tidy up” their online archives before fame — or a goal against Fulham — arrives.
“There’s understandable frustration from players and fans alike that players are being punished for mistakes of their youth,” he says. “Humans make mistakes all the time, young humans especially so.
“The difficulty for the FA is that there is no limitation period in place in their rules. In the civil courts, there is ordinarily a six-year limitation period for bringing cases. There’s an understandable clamour for the FA to review their rules and consider whether there should be a time-bar on punishing players for old posts.”
