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Aaron Connolly is a young footballer who has come through the grades in Irish football to play for Brighton.
I met him for an interview last season and was taken by how grounded he was. He celebrated two debut goals against Tottenham by going for a meal with his father Mike at a Harvester pub. Only 19 at the time, he couldn’t get over the fact he was being talked about on Match of the Day.
That was in October 2019. Now, in February 2021, Connolly has been forced to close down all of his social media accounts because of the abuse he has been receiving.
Coincidentally, it was a missed chance in last Sunday’s game against Tottenham that triggered the deluge. Brighton won 1-0, but it seems some people had bet heavily on a 2-0 outcome. In their strange, sad eyes, Connolly had cost them money and deserved to be told.
At Brighton, Connolly is known to be sensitive to criticism and is particularly hard on himself. Since that spectacular opening at the Amex 16 months ago, he has only scored three more league goals.
But that’s the way it goes when you are young. It takes time. Brighton manager Graham Potter still believes in him and picked him to start Saturday’s game at Burnley.
But staff at the club are concerned all the same. The abuse was vile and personal. So, they’ve spoken to him, and are looking out for him as any good employer would. And the point of all this is to show just how deep a problem football and social media has become. – Daily Mail
Online Reporter