- Did Nunez’s dig at Norwich City go too far?
- Iwan Roberts calls out Ipswich Town CEO
- How far is too far for former players?
I’m not going to lie, I was one of the fans saddened when we sold Marcelino Nunez. This was compounded when we sold him to Ipswich Town.
And then… it got worse.
Banter
At what point does it stop being banter?
I can understand a player getting a bit of lip and then doing the cup to the ear gesture. I am all for the “If you can dish it out, you can take it” school of thought.
But with Nunez there is a degree of nastiness to it. It wasn’t just that he was giving it back, he was practically yelling at us through a megaphone.
Chairman
Nunez was not the only one who came under fire.
Ipswich Town CEO Mark Ashton was called out for joining with an abusive chant directed toward Delia Smith, something that former Norwich City striker Iwan Roberts believed was inappropriate behaviour for someone in his position.
This then resulted in abuse directed at Iwan Roberts, which kind of proved his point.
Not acceptable
It should also be said that anyone taking this too far has to be called out.
If it is true that Norwich City fans were sending violent messages or abuse to Nunez or anyone else then that is not acceptable either.
I once received a death threat on social media purely for being a Norwich City fan.
Keep it civil
There is likely to be a reaction to this along the lines of “You can’t say anything these days”.
I have friends who are Ipswich Town fans, and I think it’s like anything – you can mess about and have a joke about it. It is a rivalry, and I’m not going to pretend it isn’t.
We had our moments to gloat and now they have theirs. Fair enough.
I also think you can go too far the other way. Players not wanting to celebrate scoring against former teams is a nice gesture to a point but I do feel that there is room for a bit of character on show.
The difference…
With Nunez and Ashton there is a degree of responsibility. Things can happen in the heat of the moment, that’s fair enough.
However this is a bit crass and while I am probably being over optimistic I did hope for a bit better.
Without wanting to sound like a parent in a sitcom, I’m not angry, just disappointed.
