“He told me that he would throw my wife into the canal and kill my children”

Social media has a positive side, the possibility of being hyper-connected and knowing the way of thinking of many of our idols. Nevertheless, there is a dark side that makes them a danger comparable to any knife. Anonymity empowers those who pretend to hurt without showing their faces and Paul Merson, a former England international (he played at Euro 92 and the 98 World Cup) and Arsenal legend of the 90s, can give a good account of the worst side of the network.

Merson (52 years old), now a regular television analyst, has reported in the 'Daily Star' the anguish suffered six months ago when, through Instagram, received such terrible threats that they made him rethink whether it was worth continuing to expose himself publicly on social networks, since The messages received were not only aimed at his person, but also at his wife and children.

“I had an egregious threat a while ago for saying that Manchester United would not win the league with Anthony Martial as a center forward. Someone told me that I would throw my wife into the channel and kill my children. I told my wife about it and we both sat down and said: 'Wow!' “Explained the former midfielder. However, what the former Aston Villa player regrets most is not having reported the case to the police.

“When they call me 'dope' … It's hard”

“My agent asked me if I wanted to go to the police, but I said, 'No, this boy is clearly not well. It's my fault for reading it. Now I look back and regret not having reported it to the police. Just to teach him a lesson, you know? Another who got away with impunity, “he continues. To confirm at the moment what we advanced previously: “I told someone the next day that I was leaving social networks”.

Your case is especially complicated, since Merson has spoken openly about his problems with alcohol, gambling and cocaine in the past, thus making him a regular target of internet rage: “Sometimes it affects me. On days when I'm not strong and people call me 'dope' or worse … It's tough. You don't need that kind of thing in your life. “

“I drank 35 pints a week”

In his day he came to recognize that “he drank at least 35 pints of beer a week and played a lot.” But he said that all this was part of the past: “Now I'm sober and not gambling. As soon as I dealt with the drinking problem, I stopped playing. I have realized that I lose all power when I drink. I am an alcoholic.”, he claimed. Now, recovered, he has had to face another type of problem, one that is more common every day and against which it is difficult to fight, social networks.