Only in football can fans, pundits and journalists place all of their focus upon a 52-year-old Portuguese man struggling to keep his job, whilst silently watching on as a man who soon faces trial for having sex with and grooming a minor jovially celebrates netting a penalty for his club, as he’s cheered on by a stadium full of supporters.
First, let’s be clear about this: Adam Johnson has not been convicted of a crime. At the time of this writing, Johnson has yet to face the Crown Court and discover whether he has been deemed innocent or guilty of his alleged offences. That will take place on February 10th, 2016, and if it is discovered by the court that the allegations are true, then I should imagine (or at least, I should hope) that those who have been complicit in a man set to stand trial for child sex charges continuing to play for a Premier League team, whilst earning hundreds of thousands of pounds in wages, will feel a little ashamed of themselves for having done so.
The image of Johnson running the full length of the Stadium of Light’s pitch towards the away stand, goading Newcastle fans after scoring a spot-kick past Rob Elliot, is infuriating for a number of reasons. Firstly, the sight of his teammates encouraging him; smiling broadly, knowing that no one particularly cares about his potential crimes, meaning that the surreal image of a man standing trial for child sex charges being hugged and praised by his colleagues will go largely unnoticed. Secondly, the Sunderland fans, who are seemingly okay with a guy being accused of having sex with a minor if he puts the ball into the back of a net.
Here’s a video of the home fans’ reaction to Johnson’s goal. I’d just like to remind you, again, that the man they are cheering for is currently awaiting trial for child sex charges:
Lastly, Johnson decided to take it upon himself to taunt Newcastle fans after scoring the goal, something which could see him face disciplinary action. Think about that for a second: Johnson’s career with Sunderland was allowed to continue largely unimpeded after the charges were made against him, with Sunderland keeping him in the same position after only briefly suspending him. Meanwhile, a classless celebration on his behalf will lead to the FA likely disciplining him, despite them standing idly by when Johnson was reinstated and allowed to represent English football in its top league. Regardless of whether or not Johnson’s arrest was due to an alleged crime that took place off the pitch, surely there should be some measures put in place to not allow a prospective child sex offender to continue his job until he faces trial as though nothing has happened?
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We’ve reported upon the depressing reaction to the Adam Johnson case several times in the past. First, we noted how so many were keen to jump to Johnson’s defense and inevitably place the onus of blame upon his alleged 15-year-old victim, already coming to the conclusion that she was lying about the crimes, or that she had “tricked” him into believing she was older, despite there being no evidence to back up either of these claims. Then we revealed how the full name of the alleged victim had been circulated online, leading to her being hunted across her social media accounts by those who had decided that she was at fault because Johnson is a professional football player, and as such can apparently do no wrong.
However, those incidents were orchestrated by awful people on the Internet, whereas the FA, Sunderland and Premier League fans’ very real, very disappointing reaction to the crimes Johnson could potentially be guilty of serve to condone the heinous behaviour that followed in the wake of his arrest. If Johnson’s employers, fans of the club he represents and the governing body of the league that club resides within don’t care that he may have groomed and had sex with a minor, then why should anyone else? Instead, this is a scenario which continues to be swept under the rug by all those involved, with them instead choosing to quietly sit on the sidelines and hope that Johnson is found innocent in February, so that they won’t have to explain exactly why they kept a child sex offender on their pay roll for almost a full year following his arrest.
