Towards the end of the summer transfer window Martin Dubravka opted to move out on loan to Manchester United leaving Newcastle United fans very confused.
While Newcastle brought in Nick Pope from relegated Burnley, there was a thinking at the time that he and Dubravka were of a similar level and the debate raged online about who would be the first-choice ‘keeper.
The debate ended up being a moot point when Dubravka announced he was going out on loan to Manchester United. Newcastle fans were baffled by the decision as he would have been, at worst, second-choice at Newcastle and would likely be third-choice at Man United.
Some fans took things way too far online when Dubravka moved to Manchester
It seems though, that some fans just couldn’t let it be and opted to target the Newcastle goalie with abuse online. In an interview with The Mirror, Dubravka said: “Some (of the messages) were very harsh. Some of them were very offensive, to my family and myself.
“I was thinking: Do I deserve this, after five years being here, trying to do my best for the club. But that’s football. Not everyone can love you. That’s not this world.
“Twitter? The abuse there. I didn’t expect that. But there was the other side of the fans who appreciated the time I’ve spent here, and they showed me love even when I came back.”
Dubravka may have brushed it off with “But that’s football”, but that just doesn’t sit right with me. It’s all too easy to hurl abuse at someone online behind a Twitter account, usually an antonymous one let’s be honest. At the end of the day, these are real people you’re talking to, with families, friends, feelings.
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Dubravka gave Newcastle five great years before moving to Man United
It’s one thing to direct abuse towards the player but to then bring their family into it is a new level of sickness.
I hated reading these quotes this morning. Newcastle bang on about being the best fans in the world, and don’t get me wrong, the majority are, but there’s that little toxic minority who give us, and all football fans a bad name.
As Dubravka said, he gave a good five years to Newcastle and he had plenty of opportunities to leave, when times were tough he stuck by us. So what if he chose to try and advance his career somewhere else?
Newcastle still means so much to the 34-year-old Slovakian and despite what some fans put him through, he still classes Newcastle as his home: “To be in Manchester was a big challenge, it is a huge club, a huge fan base, but this is my home.
“I’d always given my best for Newcastle, for the fans. I stayed in the bad times, when I had opportunities to leave the club, to go for another challenge. The last four and a half years we’d been fighting relegation, and I stuck with the club and I thought the fans would appreciate that and maybe understand my new situation.
“They are the best fans and they give a lot to the team, and they want loyalty back from the players. But as I said I’ve been loyal to the club for five years – I stuck with the club through bad times when we really struggled and needed points.
“I refused to leave at that time when other clubs made offers for me. I always said this is the place where I found great people, my home. They deserve success. My son was born here and is a Geordie. I’m very attached to the club.”
Fair play to Dubravka for rising above the abuse, and for coming back to the club he calls home. We should never forget the times he pulled us out of the dirt with some magnificent saves.
As a fanbase, let’s do better eh?