Is Booing in Football Acceptable Behavior?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the acceptability of booing in football, particularly in the context of a recent match between England and Croatia. Participants explore the implications of booing as a form of crowd expression, its variations across different sports, and the media's response to such behavior.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Exploratory

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants report hearing booing directed at Croatian players during the match, questioning whether it was real or artificially generated sound.
  • There is a viewpoint that booing, as long as it is not racially motivated, is an acceptable part of the game and a sign of disapproval.
  • Others note that the level of acceptable booing varies significantly between different sports, suggesting that crowd size may influence this perception.
  • Some participants express disappointment at booing the national anthem of opposing teams, indicating a belief that it reflects poorly on the crowd.
  • A participant mentions that during lockdowns, artificial crowd noise, including booing, was used in matches, raising questions about the authenticity of the crowd's reactions.
  • There is a reference to booing being frowned upon in tennis, with a suggestion that context matters in determining its acceptability.
  • One participant recalls the impact of John McEnroe's attitude on tennis, implying that booing can have a place in sports culture.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a range of opinions on the acceptability of booing, with no clear consensus on whether it is universally acceptable or context-dependent. Some agree that booing is part of the competitive atmosphere, while others express concern about its implications, particularly regarding national pride.

Contextual Notes

Participants reference varying crowd capacities and the potential use of artificial crowd noise, which may affect perceptions of booing. The discussion also touches on the cultural differences in booing across sports, indicating that norms may not be uniform.

Who May Find This Useful

Readers interested in sports culture, crowd behavior, and the social dynamics of sporting events may find this discussion relevant.

Dr Wu
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I don't know if my ears were playing tricks on me, but while watching the England v Croatia match the other day, I distinctly heard what sounded like massed booing being directed at the Croatian players, invariably while Croatia had the ball. What really struck home, however, was the dearth of any criticism coming from the media afterwards about this unsporting behaviour. Indeed, I don't recall either of the two BBC match commentators drawing attention to it while it was happening. It could be, of course, that I imagined it, or else I'm in urgent need of treatment from an ear specialist. . . what?
 
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Were there fans in the stands, or was it artificial sound?
 
Dr Wu said:
I don't know if my ears were playing tricks on me, but while watching the England v Croatia match the other day, I distinctly heard what sounded like massed booing being directed at the Croatian players, invariably while Croatia had the ball. What really struck home, however, was the dearth of any criticism coming from the media afterwards about this unsporting behaviour. Indeed, I don't recall either of the two BBC match commentators drawing attention to it while it was happening. It could be, of course, that I imagined it, or else I'm in urgent need of treatment from an ear specialist. . . what?
As long as it's not racially-motivated booing, it's all part of the beautiful game.
 
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I think it interesting that the "approved" level of booing varies from sport to sport. American baseball: absolutely. Soccer (yeah soccer): certainly. Ice Hockey: ye. Pugilism: surely Basketball: less I think. Football (yeah football): less ? Golf: You get the point. Maybe it has more to do with crowd size. Although British fans are legend.
 
I think they are at 1/3 or 1/4 capacity but I have no idea whether the sound we hear is purely from the fans or is at least in part artificially generated - they've had quite a while now to perfect the artificial crowd noise.

Booing of opposition players is par for the course, but booing the anthem of the opposing team is disappointing. I try to tell myself that it comes from a small minority of the crowd but who knows?
 
hutchphd said:
I think it interesting that the "approved" level of booing varies from sport to sport. American baseball: absolutely. Soccer (yeah soccer): certainly. Ice Hockey: ye. Pugilism: surely Basketball: less I think. Football (yeah football): less ? Golf: You get the point. Maybe it has more to do with crowd size. Although British fans are legend.
And frowned upon in tennis.
 
Dr Wu said:
I don't know if my ears were playing tricks on me, but while watching the England v Croatia match the other day, I distinctly heard what sounded like massed booing being directed at the Croatian players, invariably while Croatia had the ball. What really struck home, however, was the dearth of any criticism coming from the media afterwards about this unsporting behaviour. Indeed, I don't recall either of the two BBC match commentators drawing attention to it while it was happening. It could be, of course, that I imagined it, or else I'm in urgent need of treatment from an ear specialist. . . what?
Nothing wrong with booing, it’s a sign of disapproval.
I have booed the opposition, the referee, the opposing fans and my own players.
For foul play poor play poor ref-fing or for being Liverpool.
If there was no booing the game would not sound competitive or even real.

There was about 22,000 fans at that match and its worth noting that when we were in lock down with no fans allowed they dubbed fan sounds onto the games.

That included booing and disapproval whistling.
 
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DrClaude said:
And frowned upon in tennis.
Depends on the context

I will never forget this guy, he ended up being a commentator in the UK too!
Very calm measured and professional these days!

Worth watching all the way through but 5.50 onwards for a bit of jeering and booing

 
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McEnroe's attitude did a lot for tennis. I remember when the line judges at Wimbledon were aging All-England Club members, who were practically asleep in their chairs.