I Hate Ryan Giggs

I Hate Ryan Giggs.

There, I bet that got your attention. Hate is a strong word at the best of times but when used to describe your feelings towards one of the worlds most respected footballers the sentiment is even more shocking, and as a result the statement needs some elaboration.

The reasoning behind this ill feeling comes from what is becoming a long-fought issue in the media; are professional footballers sportsmen in its purest form or are they role models for the wider community? To my mind there is a split of opinion amongst the media with some wanting to restrict conversation and discussion to matters of football only, whilst others jump at any opportunity to lambast any minor indiscretion a footballer makes off the pitch. A decision needs to be made, it may well be true that footballers themselves do not want the responsibility of being a role model, they want to play football and live their lives as they wish, but is that ok? Football is their profession, how many of those in a regular occupation have responsibilities that they would rather not deal with? To my mind being in the spotlight, as part of the modern game, comes with the territory and that must be a consideration of those who make it to the top of the game.

The reason this issue has forced itself to the forefront of my mind is the treatment of Ryan Giggs following his affair. To understand my issue, however, one must understand my points of comparison and those are the ever-fiery Wayne Rooney, the laughable Peter Crouch and the antithesis of gentlemanly conduct that is John Terry. All four have played away from home but their consequent treatment by the footballing community and the media varied an unbelievable amount.

Crouchy, bless him, got off relatively lightly, I think through surprise more than anything else. By his own admission without his footballing status he may well still be a virgin, but instead he has managed to start a family with a beautiful blonde that puts to shame most other WAGs. Why he did it no one will ever know and it may be a sense of pity that he came so close to throwing it all away, by his own stupidity, that led people to feel sorry for him? Who knows?

Rooney did not fair so well. Photographers invaded his privacy for months following his indiscretion and the details of the sordid affair, including its unfortunate timing, were spread for all to read. The qualities of his footballing performances were tied into discussions of his personal life and his shame was well known. However, what called his position as a role model into question more, his affair or his swearing down the camera to audiences watching at home? In my opinion it was the latter. Match of the Day was filled with discussions of whether his behavior was acceptable and whilst some footballing purists attempted to put it down to his ‘fiery character’ and the emotion of the game, many criticized Rooney’s disregard for all those his actions may well influence at home.

John Terry has lost his England captaincy twice, firstly for an affair with his ex-best friend’s wife and secondly for allegedly racially abusing Anton Ferdinand. Now, again, which one got the most publicity? Rightly so, the issue of racism created a huge stir throughout British football and I think the amount of commotion that followed this incident, and that involving Suarez, served as an excellent advertisement of the anti-racism campaign in England, which shames the likes of Russia. Within Terry’s affair however, what gained the most publicity, the fact he had cheated on his wife or that Wayne Bridge refused to shake his hand? I hope the pattern of my argument is gradually beginning to emerge, that there are so many instances in which footballers as role models are called into question, but sexual promiscuity does not seem to be one.

Ryan Giggs committed an unfathomably foul act by having an affair with his brother’s wife, whilst married himself, and if reports are to be believed, he still refuses to apologise. This was not a heat of the moment decision inspired by the emotions of a football match this was a subversive and calculated series of decisions that continued over the space of years and culminated in the termination of an unborn child. Maybe it was the specter of the failed injunction or maybe it was the fact no one could quite believe the yoga-loving, fame shy Manchester United ace could do such a thing, but the issue seemed to come and go with little incident to the man himself. Giggs’ name was not dragged through the mud and the likes of Lineker, Hansen and Lawrenson continued to sing the praises of Giggs for his footballing qualities, not once was his position as a role model called into question.

The only answer that seems to present itself is that in the footballing world, ones private life, no matter how public, is off limits. No matter how public the press makes a footballer’s indiscretions the fact it can still be loosely termed as part of their ‘personal life’ means that the term role model is no longer applicable. I don’t think, in this time of an access-all-areas media that this distinction can be made because the image it sends is one that; with the riches and fame of football one is able to become a moral degenerate and get away with it. If one is able to sleep with whoever they want and still be praised incessantly for being able to play at the highest level on the brink of 40 then something is drastically wrong.

I am not the kind of person who complains about Jeremy Clarkson or the titles of Channel 4 programs, I just want someone to come out and openly criticize Giggs for being, quite simply, a terrible human being. In 2009 Giggs won the Sports Personality of the Year award and every one applauded that the quiet and unassuming man had finally got his time in the spotlight, and yet when Giggs’ time for the spotlight truly came no one had the conviction to really press him and I think that is a shame. The award is not for sportsman of the year it is for their personality and the fact the award was not rescinded, I think, is a travesty.

Whether their profession defines them as role models or not, it places footballers in the spotlight for their actions both on and off the pitch. As a result I hope that at some point, as much as their successes bring them applause that their failures bring them hardship in all aspects of their lives. Ryan Giggs is an exceptional footballer but is that alone enough to earn ones respect? Not in my case it isn’t.