‘Rude’ Arsenal players snubbed an eight-year-old fan, drawing criticism. The father of the Arsenal mascot tweeted in response to the video, which has gone viral.
A little Gunners fan’s father tweeted about his daughter’s experience serving as a mascot during the West Ham vs. Arsenal game at the London Stadium last weekend.
But Mascot’s father responds to claims that Arsenal players treated his daughter disrespectfully. Keep reading this article to know what exactly happened to the young girl Olivia and people’s responses to the video.
Why Arsenal players ignored young mascot Olivia?
After the club released a video of its players ‘ignoring’ a young mascot as they signed her shirt before their 2-2 draw with West Ham, critics have dubbed them ‘entitled, overpaid and nasty’.
The child’s father has defended the players today. The footage shows manager Mikel Arteta and his players walking past eight-year-old Olivia Murray on Sunday while writing on the replica top, seemingly oblivious to the small girl as she watched them in awe.
Martin Odegaard, the captain of Arsenal, who Olivia had selected as her favorite player in the matchday program, was one of the stars. He walked up to her while wearing headphones, quickly signed the shirt, and then he briskly left.
Celebrities including Laura Woods, Piers Morgan, and Nick Knowles all criticized the video and urged Arsenal to “give your players another try at being decent human beings.”
Olivia’s father Mr. Murray tweeted,
However, Olivia’s father supported the players, stating that the video only provided a “small window” into her day. Additionally, he uploaded a picture of her grasping Odegaard’s hand. “My daughter had a great time serving as the @Arsenal mascot.” Only a brief window existed for her to interact with the players, and she thoroughly liked it. She loves Odegaard, so it was lovely to grasp his hand as they entered the field.
Watch Video: On Sunday, Arsenal uploaded the video on Twitter with the description, “making memories with our mascot.”
Making memories with our mascot ❤️ pic.twitter.com/LjGWmzd2Vl
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) April 16, 2023
What has the Arsenal mascot’s father said regarding the video?
Although there wasn’t much time to meet the players, the father said his daughter enjoyed holding Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard’s hand into the field before the game. But even though the father claimed that his daughter had a wonderful day, others have expressed their opinions about what happened to the child’s mascot.
Television presenter Nick Knowles called on the club to invite her back to another match ‘That’s not the only interaction she had with the players. She was a mascot, she went out on the pitch with them as well, they would have been on the pitch during warm-ups, and I think sometimes with these things with footballers there are a lot of things we don’t see.
‘That’s not excusing that video, because I watched it a couple of times over, and after I watched it I went, “Oh wait but was it cut off after?” But I went back and watched it and they didn’t, they carried on.
‘So I think maybe it’s quite a good lesson, just the reaction of the normal fans, what they’re seeing and what we’re seeing. Perhaps it’s just a lesson that I understand it’s a pre-match routine and perhaps you’re in your little bubble and I get that, but how long does it take just to make eye contact or something?’
Arsenal players were criticized by fans for posting a mascot video
Fans criticized Arsenal players for their hasty confrontation with the young fan. Let’s see some of the comments below:
Emily, a Manchester United fan, wrote,
‘She’d have far better memories if one of them gave eye contact or were bothered to acknowledge the girl. Rude and entitled springs to mind!’
Meanwhile, a supporter of Championship club Middlesbrough tweeted,
‘Embarrassing… Think Ben White was the only one who made some sort of gesture toward her. ‘Before people moan saying “what do you expect them to do” a simple “Hello” would suffice’.
One fan wrote,
‘Not even a quick “hello”… if this is the sort of player-fan interaction you think is social media worthy, I dread to think how the players behave when the cameras aren’t rolling.’
A second said,
‘Would help if they acknowledged the poor little girl!! Clowns,’ while a third called the players ‘entitled, over paid and rude’.
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Lavanya (Senior Editor) is a full-time content writer with almost 5 years of experience and a part-time teacher. She joined Medico Topics on the Breaking News trainee scheme in 2022 and now works on MedicoTopics.com. As a lifelong learner, She is constantly curious about learning new things and passionate about sharing knowledge with people through her writing and teaching.