Motherwell captain Stephen O’Donnell has experienced sectarianism and had eggs thrown at his window, and says self-policing of fans can help stamp abuse out of Scottish football.
O’Donnell says that while he signed up for that by becoming a professional footballer, his wife and kids didn’t, and neither did Stuart Kettlewell’s family.
The former Scotland defender has some sympathy for Kettlewell, who stood down from the Motherwell manager’s job on Monday, saying his family were affected by the abuse he was receiving from sections of the club’s own support.
While O’Donnell says everybody at the club just has to ‘get on with it’, he firmly believes it’s not something anybody should have to put up with in any walk of life.
O’Donnell said: “I’ve had eggs thrown at my window. I say it’s part and parcel, but I don’t like saying that, because it shouldn’t be the case, but I signed up for it.
“My kids are too young to really understand it, and my wife doesn’t really care – she doesn’t like football, and that’s one of the perks.
“I try and work hard, and hopefully get out the other end. I know that in football if you then start to perform well, or better, it goes away and it becomes positive. So I try not to get bogged down in the negative.
“I signed up for it. I’m at my wee boy’s football on Wednesday, first game of Fun Fours, and the parents are getting animated at the side.
“There’s passion involved, that can sometimes spill over to being a bit too far.
“The vast majority of fans in football are great but there is always the people that spoil it for the rest with the sectarianism, the racism and the abuse.”
O’Donnell added: “Is the abuse getting worse? I don’t know. From my experience a lot of abuse has got better, I know the sectarian stuff has dialled right down.
“We used to get it quite a lot when I first started, so I’m really proud and pleased with that. That’s society moving forward and we can and should always strive for more.
“That side of it that hurts me has got better and hopefully we can get better.
“It’s still [something that happens] occasionally now, but certainly when I first started playing at a couple of venues you would get it – at Parkhead as well, just in case anybody’s thinking it’s just one side. It was a number of stadiums and, thankfully, since I’ve got older it has got quieter.
“Self-policing I think is the best policy, hopefully that can help the stewards and the policing, and that sort of thing.
“You obviously have every right to give your opinion, but just be mindful when you’re giving it that there are families round about and they maybe don’t sign up for the abuse that the players and managers accept.
“And referees by the way, we can’t miss them out, they get abuse, so maybe sometimes take a step back and appreciate that they’re in that position.
“We all have our Kryptonite and I think when your family’s involved, your kids are involved and getting upset, I think that’s going to take a toll.
“When it gets too far, it’s up to the individuals involved to make a decision; the manager has and we stand by what he decided.”
O’Donnell says the squad are preparing for the visit of Celtic tomorrow, and looking forward to the game.
He said: “The start of the week was filled with a mixture of emotions – shock and obviously disappointment in how everything unfolded.
“But we’ve got an exciting game against a top opposition and hopefully looking to get a positive result.
“I think we’re all experienced enough, most players now have experienced managers moving on, albeit the circumstances around it are a wee bit different.
“But we’re a professional bunch, we work hard and as I say, hopefully be ready for Sunday.”
Having watched Celtic match Aston Villa for long spells of their Champions League clash before losing 3-2 at Villa Park on Wednesday, O’Donnell hopes Motherwell take inspiration from that.
He said: “It’s a massive challenge. I watched the game the other night, Celtic showing their quality, going toe-to-toe with a top Premier League side in Aston Villa, with all their riches, and we want to do that.
“We want to go toe-to-toe with the best two teams in Scotland in Celtic and Rangers, to compete, and hopefully that’s something we can do.
“We’ve been working hard, we’ve got the full group together after there was a [bounce] game on Tuesday, so hopefully a hard session today [Friday] and we’ll be ready for Sunday.
“I know they’ve got a few doubts and a few injuries from the game the other night. I’m excited for the game and hopefully it will be a positive result and one that everyone can get behind.”