An Aberdeen fan has hit out after an online troll sent a misogynistic tweet about her after appearing on a BBC podcast.
Erin Grieve, a managing associate and solicitor advocate at Edinburgh-based Addleshaw Goddard, was speaking about the Dons’ bad run of form on the BBC’s Scottish Football Podcast.
In it, the Scottish Football Forums Podcast host called for the sacking of manager Barry Robson after Wednesday’s 1-0 league home defeat to Kilmarnock.
One Twitter user that goes by the name dazzy19031 responded to a clip of Miss Grieve posted by BBC Sport Scotland and tweeted: “Why does this fat transgender looking clown always speak for Aberdeen, shut your mouth.”
In response to the now deleted tweet that is believed to have been reported to the police, Shetland-born Sportscene host Jonathan Sutherland slammed the online troll who abused her.
He posted: “This is an example of the sort of abuse aimed at one of our female contributors simply for sharing her opinion. If you have the misfortune of knowing the pathetic “Dazzy” it is time to have a word.”
As well as the Sportscene’s host reaction, others showed their anger at the tweet by dazzy19031.
One wrote; “you are an embarrassment; wind your neck in and keep your horrible comments to yourself!”, while another said: “What a horrible individual you are.”
Despite this, there were some other misogynistic comments on the clip, with Patrick Wight tweeting; “does she know what football is?”, while another put; “got some random bird doing punditry now”, with a laughing emoji.
Speaking to The P&J, Miss Grieve – a South Stand season ticket holder – said: “I’m actually pretty used to it, you get it quite a lot.
“I don’t mind if people say ‘I don’t agree that Robson should be sacked’ or ‘I don’t agree that Jonny Hayes is that good’, that’s fine obviously.
“The manager ones a tricky one at the moment and that is absolutely fine.
“I don’t expect everyone to agree on that, but I think it’s absolutely mental that people sit at home and type this out. At what point in your mind do you think ‘this is good, this is the tweet’, it’s absolutely mental.
‘They have probably very little going on’
“I can’t imagine what goes through mind their mind to think ‘I’m going to type this tweet, that’s going to go down really well’.
“I think so much of it is genuinely they are all really bored, they have probably very little going on and they think it looks great, ‘oh my pals think I’m so funny, oh look at this, aren’t I really cool?’ No not really, it’s just embarrassing.”
Miss Grieve, who is a member of the Blazing Lambs and Capital 1903 Dons supporters clubs and has travelled abroad with the Stirling Reds, thinks its time that people stand up when they see or hear this sort of abuse.
“People need caught out. What you need is for some of his pals to say ‘mate that’s not funny’.”
The lifelong Dons supporter hopes that things get better for girls and women in the Scottish game and said: “There was a wee girl at one of the games at Pittodrie and I really want her to feel like that she can go.
“You also need to see women at games, women on TV, you need to see all of that, because you can’t be what you can’t see and I don’t want people to think football’s not for them.”
Conversation