Troy Deeney says players should offer more than just “inane” social media posts after games and wants more “open” dialogue with fans.
In his programme notes for Saturday’s game against Burnley, the Watford striker defended his post-match comments about referee David Coote, for which he was fined £20,000 by the FA following the game against Bournemouth.
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Deeney said the official “bottled it” when not making some decisions in the game but he’s explained his viewpoint and says he was just trying to be as open and honest as possible.
Deeney said: “I think it’s a good time to make it clear that I meant no disrespect by what I said to the ref. I was calling it as I saw it based on the question the interviewer asked – and I was clear that I felt we should have been worse off for some decisions, not just the other team as you so often hear managers and players say.
“It’s quite frustrating really, because I like to be as open as I can be.”
The 30-year-old also hit out at players’ social media activity after games and says Premier League stars should be able to deliver their opinions more freely.
He added: “There’s nothing worse after a draw or a defeat than players getting on social media and sending out an inane picture with a message about how the fans were great and we’ll go again next week.
“I think we can take that for granted when it comes to the challenges of professional football. It’d be great if there were more opportunities for players and officials to join managers in giving a thorough review of what happened without the threat of being castigated for saying something that they believe in, or might go against the accepted norm.
“I hope I can always find an opportunity to be open with my thoughts because we owe it to everyone watching to give a decent assessment of what they’re paying to look at.”
