Super Eagles’ Leon Balogun Laments Over Footballers’ Lack Of Safety

Out-of-favour Nigerian defender, Leon Balogun, believes that some fans have gotten more guts to abuse footballers partially because of easy access to the players through social media.

Leon Balogun who currently plays for Scottish giants, Glasgow Rangers, is a member of FIFPRO’s Global Player Council. The council is making efforts to stop cyberbullying of footballers.

Some of the cases of cyberbullying have been taken as far as footballers being abused while playing for their respective clubs or national team, which means that the abuse is no longer limited to their activities on social media.

Recall that in January 2024, FIFPRO’s Workplace Safety Report, which was a product of player interviews, a survey of 41 national player unions, and media reviews, highlighted the scale and impact of violence and abuse by fans towards professional footballers in the men’s game.

In line with that, the 35-year-old Nigerian defender declared that footballers are no longer safe while speaking during a Space session on X about the impact of violence towards footballers in their workplace.

Hence, Leon Balogun urged for more dialogue to tame the rise in abusive behaviour towards players in their workplace.

“I have this feeling that this constant access to the real me as a player has lowered the threshold for fans in the stadium to a point where some think they are entitled to do things which they really aren’t,” Balogun said.

“Some people, not the majority, feel because they have paid for a ticket to come to the stadium that it somehow automatically gives them the right to abuse you. Some people just want to voice their frustration at you in a very inappropriate way.”