FA Charges Andre Gray with misconduct

WonderingSoton said:

If it's a ban, it sets a dangerous precedent for me: Worried about an opposition player in an upcoming fixture? Stalk his social media feeds going back years and years until you find something he once said that was rather stupid / offensive. Bring it to light and expect the FA to issue a ban. Perfect.

I don't know about anyone else, but I was certainly a stupider, less mature person at 21, probably said lots of stupid stuff, and was more grown up by 25. The ages Gray was then and now is.

I think the fact that these have been brought to light and widely seen, drawing widespread criticism and bad publicity, showing Gray up to have been a rather unpleasant lad, is probably embarrassing and punishing enough for the bloke. No matter how good a player he becomes, no big sponsors are going to go near him. Questions will be asked should he ever get an England call up. It's probably going to stick around his career like a bad smell.

I don't think a ban is necessary or wise. Perhaps a fine and donation to LGBT support causes would be more appropriate.

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Ali_rrr said:

I'm 19 and even I know telling a group of people to die or burn on social media is a terrible thing. It really isn't a thing of maturity. The ban was completely justified in my opinion.

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Ernest said:

If it was Wayne Rooney it would be dead and buried, should accept his apology and move on. Total and utter bullshit and you can guarantee that people will dig deep years back once you set a precedent

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Greg Bobkin said:

It's a GOOD job you've NEVER said anything STUPID that could COME back TOO bite EWE, Enrest...

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Paul Reids Sock said:

I think this comes from being in the Social Media age. Even 4 years ago a lot of people were only just getting on to social media and there hadn't been massive amounts of these stories about people putting idiotic things on there.

And... some people are just thick

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BBassic said:

It's because he was trending on Twitter after the Liverpool game. Made people go back through his tweets I guess and someone went back further than others.

I'm not sure where I stand on this to be honest.

Obviously what he said was awful and entirely problematic but they were also the product of a man who is likely far removed from the man he is now. I understand that the FA has had to come out and do something but where's the limit?

What's the statute of limitations on dumb shit you said when you were a kid?

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Herr Tubthumper said:

What I hope happens is that he apologises, and somehow demonstrates the sincerity of his apology. He's done the first bit but words are cheap. It's now up to him to further demonstrate he's a changed man. The easiest outcome is for the FA to recognise all of this and give him a suspended punishment.

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Nixonator said:

Oh come on. The guy is a repugnant wanker and has very likely not changed at all.

The only thing that has changed is he is now being advised on how to behave and though dense as pigshit, has enough functioning brain cells to realise he is now in the public eye.

Agree that he should not be banned though, but only for the precedent that it will set and not because I believe a word of his 'apology', not that I even give a ******* **** about whether it is or isn't genuine.

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Ernest said:

If it was Wayne Rooney it would be dead and buried, should accept his apology and move on. Total and utter bullshit and you can guarantee that people will dig deep years back once you set a precedent

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sussex_guy2k2 said:

The alternative argument is that if it was Luiz Suarez, he'd be hounded by the media, given a hefty fine and banned for 8 games.

A better example would've been John Terry. Now John Terry is a racist, who got away with being a racist, and never had to apologise for being a racist.

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BBassic said:

I prefer to think of John Terry as a loose conglomeration of the worst pieces of humanity piled up into a towering specimen of shit.

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Greg Bobkin said:

While I agree with this sentiment, there's saying stupid stuff and then there is voicing some pretty outrageous opinions for all the world to (eventually) see. For me, the issue isn't when he said it, or what type of person he is, it's the fact that he's stated these opinions out loud (in social media terms) in the first place, instead of keeping them to himself.

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mxs_harrow said:

Maybe the multitude of people who "liked" or re-tweeted these postings will probably have to look at themselves as well......

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