Social media outrage over gold-covered steak

DUSSELDORF: Franck Ribery’s recent tirade shows that football players need better coaching and support on how to interact on social media, according to the German players’ union VDV. VDV managing director Ulf Baranowsky said that clubs and federations must help the players in this area as “many players don’t find it easy to deal with social media”. Ribery was fined by Bayern Munich after he responded poorly to at times harsh and insulting criticism for posting a photo of himself being served a gold-covered steak in a famous Dubai restaurant. He vented on his private social media channels in a rant filled with expletives. “Two-way insults on the internet are not nice for anyone involved. If a player is provoked he has the right to react. But it should have been the right level, which isn’t easy in a stressful situation,” he said. The VDV said it depended on each individual case whether clubs could sanction their players when they were acting in a private environment. Player contracts normally have a clause on whether social media postings must be approved by the employer. Players also have loyalty obligations towards their clubs. Ribery was training with Munich in Doha for the second half of the Bundesliga season, and captain Manuel Neuer said on Monday that he didn’t expect a negative effect on Bayern’s aim to make up a six-point deficit on leaders Borussia Dortmund. “The deciding thing for me is what Franck does for the team,” Neuer said. “I don’t think this should be turned into a debate. “The question for us players is, how does he train and play, how does he present himself on the pitch? I have no doubts, given how he works for the team here and how he played in the last game against Frankfurt.” | dpa