Former Premier League referee Mark Halsey has opened up on the 'death threats' and other abuse he encountered after overseeing one game between Manchester United and Liverpool.
It was Halsey's job to keep tensions to a manageable level during a 2012 clash between English football's two most successful clubs. Almost exactly 11 years ago, the ex-official showed Jonjo Shelvey a first-half red card at Anfield before United came from behind to beat their hosts 2-1.
And Halsey – who has overcome cancer, while his wife will undergo treatment for Leukaemia for the rest of her life – said the social media backlash following that result was the worst he's experienced in his career. The 62-year-old was "blamed for sending Jonjo off" despite his attempts to soothe players early on during the match.
"I remember Jonjo went through a United player in the first minute, and you could argue it was a caution. But in those sort of games, you can't go straight in for a yellow card in the first few minutes, because you're gonna have a hatful," he told the Under The Cosh podcast. "You've got to manage those games.
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"And I remember getting stick off my evaluations saying I should've cautioned him, but you can't! I remember the United players were going ballistic saying, 'That's a yellow card!' I said 'Get away and I will deal with it.' And I spoke to Jon and said, 'Any more and you're gonna get a caution.'"
Halsey – who retired at the end of the 2012/13 campaign, having returned to the top flight after beating a non-Hodgkin lymphoma – looked back on the fixture as a "really good game". However, the reaction he received from the public online was anything but.
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"But on that, [I'll] say the fallout from that game on social media was horrendous for me and my family," he added. "Listen, I can take it. To reach the top level, you've got to be mentally tough, mentally strong."
Asked whether that particular example was "a different level" to the abuse he was used to facing, the former official said: "Absolutely. Especially when they wanted my young daughter to die of cancer. And my wife's cancer to come back and [kill her].
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"And there's a bullet waiting for you… you know, we can take it. But when it starts impacting on your family, that's not right. And I know the police got involved, they done a great job. A couple of people got interviewed [over the threats], and one of the guys lived up in the north east. He was gonna lose his job over it, and I remember speaking to his boss and saying, 'listen, don't sack him over it – he's got a family'."
He went on to say that particular supporter "wrote a long letter apologising," explaining he was going through a lot of personal turmoil when he lashed out. Halsey cast a content figure as he insisted: "You've always got to forgive people. That's social media today, isn't it. There are many keyboard warriors that need sorting out."
While many fans may get extremely invested in clubs and their fortunes, Halsey and his family's lives were invaded by unseen figures threatening actual harm. And although he shows a mature and accepting response now, it clearly wasn't such a simple matter to deal with back then.
It's by no means uncommon for excitement to boil over whenever United and Liverpool are on the billing. However, Halsey's tale serves as a reminder of the power fans have in the social media age – and the damage that can be easily inflicted upon officials just for doing their jobs.
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