You are the proud parent to a professional footballer. After years of dedication, hard work, he has reached the top. You’ve played a huge part in his success, you’ve helped nurture his ability, his professionalism and the mentality that he’s needed to make it this far.
You’ve given up hours, days, weeks of your life to realise his dreams, ferried him up and down the country, watched him home and away for years on end and probably spent thousands of pounds on kit, boots, fuel and Haribo.
And then, when he’s achieving his lifelong ambitions, you feel you can’t go into a football ground and watch him play football anymore.
Eric Dier’s Last week’s commentsThis is a topic that’s often not discussed in the game. Families of players — in particular wives, girlfriends, sisters and daughters — either being verbally abused at matches, or having to endure their loved one getting horrendous stick, or just that environment; ie, machismo and alcohol-fuelled aggression, just not being welcoming or open to players’ families.
“My family would never go to an away game nowadays because of it and that’s a shame that I feel too uncomfortable for them to go,” Dier said. “This has been for years. My mum has never been to an away match. She would love to, but I would be worried about it — and that’s crazy, isn’t it?
“All of our families go through it. Every player’s parents have been watching them since they were kids and have gone through that kind of stuff.”
Dier was famous for going into the stands following an incident.
