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The Harry Kane issue has now crossed from ‘a bit of fun at his expense’ to ‘bullying’ in my opinion. I’ve said for a long time now that football journalists, like their political counterparts to an extent, are losing their grip on driving the narratives that football fans cling to or follow. What has become apparent in the last 12 months or so is that social media, in particular, Facebook and Twitter, are now driving narratives and journalists, and also institutions, are having to latch onto it to get clicks or attention.The Harry Kane thing is daft. Yes, he’s claimed a goal that many people think he didn’t touch. Whether or not he touched the ball is not really that relevant, the main furore seems to be that he has apparently done it to rob a teammate and that swearing on his daughter’s life was silly.
I don’t really have much of a problem with some virgin with 100 followers having a joke at Kane’s expense at all, and even football fans generally. The golden rule of comedy is that you ‘punch up’. There’s not really any harm in people taking the piss out of a millionaire footballer. It comes with the territory of being in the public eye, being a big name. It arguably only happens with this ferocity when you’re a big name who demands attention.
What is less funny, is the likes of the FA and the PFA, who’s wages are paid by Kane and other players, getting involved in it. Official bodies, institutions, that have power and influence, should not be engaging in such rubbish. They should report facts and news. Furthermore, SENIOR FOOTBALL WRITERS should not be engaging in it. This is punching down, and is mean spirited. The Football Association and football writers will be wanting England to do well in the summer, but the groundwork is already being laid for a scapegoat. The media have always done this, but usually they waited until the scapegoat had actually done something worthy of the treatment.
I hope someone sees sense soon. The pisstaking by fans will continue and it’s up to Kane to deal with that, as this will never change. It used to be that he is looks and sounds a bit dim, then he was a one season wonder, then he needed to do it in the Champions League – etc etc. He has always risen to the challenge and dealt with the ridicule from opposing fans and will continue to do so. But football writers like Mark Ogden, Neil Custis et al need to get their houses in order. They’re supposed to be standard bearers for quality football journalism. The PFA are supposed to protect players and defend them, not take the piss out of the people paying their wages. Harry is a good lad and probably doesn’t even need their defence, so I’d not be surprised if he withdraws his money and decides to find his own defence if anything comes up. He can afford to do so. As for the FA, everyone knows they’re a joke, but they’ve usually kept their counsel in public.
I hope he continues to make fools of people for years to come. I hope that journalists and our football institutions stop making fools out of themselves and carry on with their job.
