Twitter is both an echo chamber and a forum that provides a sense of detachment, enabling one to say things they wouldn’t while in the company of others. Harry Arter experienced a combination of both this week.
The Bournemouth midfielder was tipped for the England squad by Paul Merson and Jeff Stelling a few weeks ago, thanks to his impressive club form this season.
However, the Sky Sports duo didn’t realise the player has already played international football, and even made his debut against England.
Arter has three caps for the Republic of Ireland, but, as he is yet to play in a competitive game, he could still technically switch allegiance to the country of his birth.
During Ireland’s painfully dull 1-0 win over Georgia on Thursday, a rumour began to spread on Twitter that Arter was, in fact, about to switch to play for England.
The rumour gained traction to the extent that Martin O’Neill was asked about it in his post-game press conference.
"Well he hasn't played a competitive game for us, the choice is entirely with the player, but that's news to me" https://t.co/vwdII5DKGm
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) October 7, 2016
The 26-year-old, who pulled out of the Ireland squad to play Georgia and Moldova with a groin injury, has since said he has no intention of switching.
However, Arter revealed that he has been subjected to “vile” abuse from some Ireland fans on Twitter.
The London-born midfielder says the abuse was so bad it almost made him consider whether it was worth the trouble to play for Irish team.
“I couldn’t believe what I was seeing,” Arter told The Sunday World.
“This was Irish people who had looked at a few newspaper stories and come to the conclusion that I was about to go and play for England. I never said that was happening and my stance on the whole story was that I didn’t need to comment on something that was little more than a rumour.
“Then I see these Twitter messages and, honestly, it was the only time that I have ever had a thought that maybe I shouldn’t play for Ireland. The messages were just vile. I was shocked by what people were sending my way. Honestly, I had to check that someone had not hacked my account and put a message on there to inspire this reaction.
“A lot of the messages have now been deleted, which says all you need to know about the people that thought it was a good idea to write them in the first place.”
Hopefully Arter continues his good form for Bournemouth and is fit for Ireland’s World Cup qualification game against Austria next month. Unfortunately, the Twitter trolls, of all nationalities, will be still there, and most likely praising Arter if he plays well for Ireland.
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