Ajax defender Kay-lee de Sanders wonders that out loud, she says in a statement that Ajax published today. For example, ‘What is that man doing in the video?’ is one of the hate messages circulating about her. “What I’m afraid of is that the generation growing up now thinks it’s normal that you can say anything about anyone,” she says.
That is also the concern of Ajax striker Brian Brobbey, who has been called a monkey and a gorilla on social media. “We just think people can always say whatever they want on social media.”
‘Silencing Hate’
But the club, and also the players, are now done with that. They kept track of how many hate messages the players receive per month and came to a figure of more than 1,500. In an attempt to ‘silence societal hatred’, they will play with three white dots this weekend instead of the usual names on their shirts .
According to the club, the three dots are ‘a globally recognized symbol that represents silence’. “But they also represent the menu icon you click to report hate speech and associated accounts.”
‘Feeling of powerlessness’
Brobbey hopes that people will do this en masse: “If you get the hate messages, if you see them, report the messages.” Attacker Steven Berghuis and captain Steven Bergwijn also argue for this. “It’s a feeling of powerlessness. You want so much, but you can’t do anything,” says Bergwijn.
Berghuis: “I think you can hardly defend yourself against that, and that is what I try. Because it has been a kind of disbelief lately.”
The Ajax players are not only abused online. For example, in September Brian Brobbey was racially abused by a 16-year-old Twente fan at the team bus. He scolded Brobbey and made jungle noises. And it also happened at the end of May, when Berghuis punched an FC-Twente supporter because he allegedly treated Brobbey with racism. FC Twente denied that.
FC Utrecht fans were also guilty of racism last year by making jungle noises after conceding a goal. Once again Brian Brobbey was the target.
2023-12-09 09:17:56
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