REPUBLIC OF IRELAND head coach Carla Ward has hit out at “disgusting” social media abuse in the wake of Ruesha Littlejohn’s red card last weekend.
The Crystal Palace midfielder was sent off after appearing to grab Leicester City’s Hannah Cain around the neck before slamming her to the ground in her side’s 3-0 League Cup win on Sunday, and is now facing an extended ban.
Speaking on the eve of Ireland’s behind-closed-doors international friendly against Hungary in Marbella, Ward deemed the online vitriol “a disgrace” and asked, “When do we learn that battering people in that way, it doesn’t end well.”
Littlejohn, sitting beside her manager, shared her regret at the incident. “Obviously, I regret letting my emotions spill over on the pitch,” she told The 42.
Advertisement
“I’m probably quite an emotional person and player. I do regret that overspilled into the game. That’s not who I want to be on the pitch. I can learn from it and move forward.
“I’m surrounded by good people (in Ireland camp). They’ve helped me through a tough week. Now it’s just nice to be back in green and be with all the girls. I’ve had a lot of support.
“Hopefully, it’s all dealt with properly and it’s fairly dealt with. I can’t say too much about that right now. Obviously, I don’t want to harm the process.”
Ward was then asked for her thoughts, having previously coached the 93-cap 35-year-old at Aston Villa and Birmingham City.
“First and foremost, I’ve known Ruesha for a long time. I’ve had her at two clubs and for the national team. Ruesha is somebody I’ve admired as a person throughout my entire time of working with her. I think I’ve said that many, many times for anybody who’s ever interviewed me. She’s someone that’s unbelievable for the environment. She’s somebody that wears a heart on her sleeve. She’s just acknowledged it was a moment that she deeply regrets.
“The one thing that I don’t like, being really honest, is the outpouring of abuse on social media, in my opinion, has been a disgrace. When do we ever learn? When do we learn that battering people in that way, it doesn’t end well. At what point do we start learning?”
She added: “She’s a human being. She’s somebody’s daughter. She’s somebody’s sister. It’s not okay. I look at Ruesha and it’s not just because I’ve got a long-standing relationship. She’s a player. I’ll look after all my players and some of the stuff I’ve seen this week is disgusting.”
Littlejohn sees red on Sunday. Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
Littlejohn said she had stayed off social media through the episode. “Obviously, you just need to stay off social media. Obviously, there was a time when it was a bit hard because it’s coming thick and fast, but that’s it. Just stay off it. I think I’m a strong character, a strong person, and surrounded by a strong team. We’ll be okay.”
Asked if there was a solution, Ward continued: “Honestly, I don’t know. I think the likes of X is getting worse and worse. I just hope when my daughter grows up it disappears because I think it’s a really vile place.
“I don’t know. I think organisations need to help and social media (companies) need to do better. Do I think it’s going away? No, I think it’s only going to get worse. We’re not talking about defending the incident here. We’re talking about what follows. We need to do more to protect players because they’re human beings and human beings need looking after.
“It’s difficult because I use X. I use it to follow the world of football. I just think that the policies in place aren’t strong enough to… I don’t know.
Related Reads
Opportunity knocks in Spain as Ward's Ireland gear up for Hungary friendly
'I feared a return because I thought: something is going to go wrong again' - O'Hanlon's injury horror
Inside Ireland's upcoming training camp in Spain - ahead of behind-closed-doors friendly
“I just find it really difficult when I’m going on X now. If you went on to open that app now and you scrolled through, find me a positive story. Everything is just people going after people. I know that’s part of life now, but some of it is got way out of control.
“Did it used to be as bad? Do we think this is a generational thing? I don’t know the answer. I just don’t like the way it’s going with everybody can openly abuse anybody they want.”
Meanwhile, Ward confirmed that Sophie Whitehouse will make her Ireland debut in goal tomorrow as one of “six or seven changes” from last month’s Nations League playoff success against Belgium.
Late goalscoring hero Abbie Larkin is also set to start, with the media permitted to watch the 11.30am kick-off via an FAI stream.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Close
3 Comments
This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic.
Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy
here
before taking part.
Carla Ward hits out at 'disgusting' social media abuse after Littlejohn red card
REPUBLIC OF IRELAND head coach Carla Ward has hit out at “disgusting” social media abuse in the wake of Ruesha Littlejohn’s red card last weekend.
The Crystal Palace midfielder was sent off after appearing to grab Leicester City’s Hannah Cain around the neck before slamming her to the ground in her side’s 3-0 League Cup win on Sunday, and is now facing an extended ban.
Speaking on the eve of Ireland’s behind-closed-doors international friendly against Hungary in Marbella, Ward deemed the online vitriol “a disgrace” and asked, “When do we learn that battering people in that way, it doesn’t end well.”
Littlejohn, sitting beside her manager, shared her regret at the incident. “Obviously, I regret letting my emotions spill over on the pitch,” she told The 42.
“I’m probably quite an emotional person and player. I do regret that overspilled into the game. That’s not who I want to be on the pitch. I can learn from it and move forward.
“I’m surrounded by good people (in Ireland camp). They’ve helped me through a tough week. Now it’s just nice to be back in green and be with all the girls. I’ve had a lot of support.
“Hopefully, it’s all dealt with properly and it’s fairly dealt with. I can’t say too much about that right now. Obviously, I don’t want to harm the process.”
Ward was then asked for her thoughts, having previously coached the 93-cap 35-year-old at Aston Villa and Birmingham City.
“First and foremost, I’ve known Ruesha for a long time. I’ve had her at two clubs and for the national team. Ruesha is somebody I’ve admired as a person throughout my entire time of working with her. I think I’ve said that many, many times for anybody who’s ever interviewed me. She’s someone that’s unbelievable for the environment. She’s somebody that wears a heart on her sleeve. She’s just acknowledged it was a moment that she deeply regrets.
“The one thing that I don’t like, being really honest, is the outpouring of abuse on social media, in my opinion, has been a disgrace. When do we ever learn? When do we learn that battering people in that way, it doesn’t end well. At what point do we start learning?”
She added: “She’s a human being. She’s somebody’s daughter. She’s somebody’s sister. It’s not okay. I look at Ruesha and it’s not just because I’ve got a long-standing relationship. She’s a player. I’ll look after all my players and some of the stuff I’ve seen this week is disgusting.”
Littlejohn said she had stayed off social media through the episode. “Obviously, you just need to stay off social media. Obviously, there was a time when it was a bit hard because it’s coming thick and fast, but that’s it. Just stay off it. I think I’m a strong character, a strong person, and surrounded by a strong team. We’ll be okay.”
Asked if there was a solution, Ward continued: “Honestly, I don’t know. I think the likes of X is getting worse and worse. I just hope when my daughter grows up it disappears because I think it’s a really vile place.
“I don’t know. I think organisations need to help and social media (companies) need to do better. Do I think it’s going away? No, I think it’s only going to get worse. We’re not talking about defending the incident here. We’re talking about what follows. We need to do more to protect players because they’re human beings and human beings need looking after.
“It’s difficult because I use X. I use it to follow the world of football. I just think that the policies in place aren’t strong enough to… I don’t know.
“I just find it really difficult when I’m going on X now. If you went on to open that app now and you scrolled through, find me a positive story. Everything is just people going after people. I know that’s part of life now, but some of it is got way out of control.
“Did it used to be as bad? Do we think this is a generational thing? I don’t know the answer. I just don’t like the way it’s going with everybody can openly abuse anybody they want.”
Meanwhile, Ward confirmed that Sophie Whitehouse will make her Ireland debut in goal tomorrow as one of “six or seven changes” from last month’s Nations League playoff success against Belgium.
Late goalscoring hero Abbie Larkin is also set to start, with the media permitted to watch the 11.30am kick-off via an FAI stream.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Football Ireland WNT Soccer