As Lionel Messi and his Argentina teammates wrote their names in the history books after clinching a dramatic grand finale win over France in the 2022 World Cup, another name – albeit his achievement not of the same scale – created history in Qatar.
A popular Youtuber from Britain who goes by the name Theo Ogden, set a World record for attending every game live at the tournament in a challenge, dubbed, ‘The Impossible Challenge’.
Thogden, who is a Bolton Wanderers fan, is back in the news. But this time, it’s for a disappointing reason.
Former Barcelona and PSG full-back Dani Alves is in prison, with a sexual assault accusation against him being investigated. As per ESPN, He was provisionally detained in January after he was accused of sexually assaulting a woman at a nightclub in Barcelona on December 30. The Brazilian has denied wrongdoing and ‘said that sex with the woman was consensual.’
But this incident hasn’t stopped football fans from talking about the ‘ex-Barca star’, with some also choosing to ‘glorify’ the 40-year-old.
In a video shared on Twitter, Thogden can be seen talking about Alves being ‘well received by other inmates’, and a prison cell where one can ‘buy his signed Barcelona shirts’. There’s also a mention of a supposed ‘football league within the prison system’ and other creative ways to make time fly by.
Alfie of HITC Sevens tweeted that Thogden is ‘developing a bit of habit of making flattering & jovial videos’ about footballers who have been accused of serious offences.
Thogden developing a bit of a habit of making flattering & jovial videos about footballers who have been charged or indicted with rape and sexual assault for his predominantly very young young audience.
It turns out this isn’t the first time fans have noticed Thogden making content like this.
Twitter user @SPT_JT claimed the famous content creator also glorified Paris Saint-Germain defender Achraf Hakimi after the allegations of ‘rape and cheating on his wife’ were revealed.
What is wrong with this Thogden guy, absolute weirdo
glorifies hakimi for rape and cheating on his wife
now glorifying dani alves, a convicted sex offender who is in prison https://t.co/3ClXYqEIeF
Content creators in general need to understand the impact their videos or articles may have on their young audience. From cheering for Hakimi during his issue (for different reasons) with his wife to glorifying Alves when his contract is terminated by his club Pumas and he’s in jail, in search for new content ideas creators tend to blur the lines between what is right and what is not.
Individual creators aren’t the only problem here. There’s a large section of Football Twitter that loves to make ‘Prison FC’ jokes whenever footballers are accused of any crime. It’s high time that we all – the creators and consumers – should retrospect what kind of atmosphere we want in the football circle.
