PRWeek survey finds John Terry is at risk of damaging the reputation of football

PRWeek reporters, prweek.com, 19 February 2010, 8:58am

The behaviour of deposed England captain John Terry risks damaging the reputation of football in general, according to exclusive research by PRWeek.

Risk of damaging reputation of football: John Terry

A OnePoll survey of more than 3,000 members of the general public found 52 per cent believed Terry's recent affair with a team-mate's ex-girlfriend could drag down the reputation of football in general.

Nearly 40 per cent of respondents also said their opinion of footballers had become more negative in the past year.

The survey illustrated how important players' off-field behaviour is for their reputations. Some 62 per cent said footballers' personal life shaped public opinion of them and a significant 71 per cent thought footballers appeared 'above the law'. Eighty-two per cent believed footballers' salaries were ‘ridiculous'.

All Comments

Tom Hill - 19 February 2010

A society that puts on a pedestal a man on the basis of his ability to get in the way of others trying to do what they should gets the role models it deserves.

Greg Simpson - 19 February 2010

Whatever happens, Terry has caused this problem for himself. Like Tiger Woods before him he has been exposed as the antithesis of what he portrays. It is that portrayal which has, along with his undoubted talent, elevated him to where he is today. It is that portrayal which may ultimately be his downfall.

paul seaman - 19 February 2010

England World Cup winning captain Booby Moore was at least as badly behaved as John Terry. From his early roughhousing on the County Park Estate he went on to run dodgy pubs with dodgy business partners. He had extramarital affairs on airlines and God knows where else. He got arrested in Bogota, Columbia. He went late-night clubbing when he should have been tucked up in bed. All in all Bobby was a bit of a lad. But he had angelic looks. Moreover, Bobby is revered as a national treasure - because he won something.

Football has not changed much. Neither have footballers nor football fans; except it now has more middle class appeal \(but still, the general public and fans are not necessarily the same thing)

Part of the attraction of football is that it is not totally politically correct. Take that away from the game completely and it will die. This survey's results should not be taken lightly, but thrown with force into the bin:

http://paulseaman.eu/2010/02/im-backing-john-terry-to-stay-captain/

Arman Alan Ali - 19 February 2010

I went to matches at Stamford Bridge during the 1970 and 1980s, where scenes of violence and outright racism \(with people openly selling copies of NF News along Fulham Broadway) were commonplace. That behaviour at Chelsea and other clubs damaged the reputation of football. A player - even a prominent England squad member - 'playing away' is not even in the same league as that. It's about time there was a sense of proportion about John Terry's bad judgement and indiscretion. The sky has not fallen in and I returned to watching the mighty Blues in the mid-90s, reassured that it was a safe and enjoyable experience once again.

Cathy Bussey - 19 February 2010

It is entirely fair to say that football is 'not totally politically correct'.

The ongoing issues of rape, violence, infidelity, homophobia, racism, corruption and drugs surrounding the sport and its players are certainly not totally politically correct.

However I'd argue if we resolved the issues of rape, violence, infidelity, homophobia, racism, corruption and drugs, and left a bit of colourful language and bawdy good humour, the sport could retain it's 'not totally politically correct' image just dandy.

Phil Clegg - 25 February 2010

Whilst it is clear that the image of football and footballers is not going to be helped by stories such as these, it is also true that by the nature of these stories they attract far more media attention than some of the positive actions taken in the world of football. For example - the FA support a huge range a Grassroots initiatives, most recently the website www.footee.com that in just over three months from going live has already helped over 50,000 7-11-yr-old children with thier math, English and science through educational social gaming based on football so weighing it up... which story gains more press: one footballer who earns £100,000s a week sleeping with another footballer's girlfriend, or football helping 50,000 children with their schoolwork in an initiative that is the first of its kind in the world? And the answer is...