What We're Reading
No tweeting for Danes at Euro
- AP, Tuesday, April 24, 2012 3:08 PM
Denmark coach Morten Olsen wants his players at this summer's European Championship to focus on the tournament and has thus shut down the "24-7 open microphone'' known as
Twitter.
That's a shame, said Denmark goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen, that players cannot tell fans what they do ''without revealing tactics."
Denmark Sports
Minister Uffe Elbaek said his first thought when hearing of the Danish soccer federation's ban was that it was "a violation of the freedom of speech."
I'm not sure that this is at all so much a clamping down on players being mouthy (and narcissistic -- let's be honest, Facebook and Twitter are much about narcissism)as it is working to remove distractions. Free speech? (Uh, Mister Sports Minister, football players are very rarely ever wishing to Tweet about political, societal, or social issues.) Don't forget, we're talking Danish players who mostly play in leagues well away from Denmark. Most are not household names but a UEFA tournament permits them a stage to shine on and can result in very distracting rumor and, yes, "Tweets," about clubs wishing to loan or purchase them. Morton Olson is smart. Twitter is two-way communication. He does not want his players in constant new contract negotiations or engaging in gossip with their player agents while they are supposed to be focusing on the job at hand. Look for other national team bosses to do likewise. Team managers now have to clamp down on this stuff regularly.