Paul Simpson has stressed that Carlisle United had little choice but to lay down the law with the three young players who have been suspended over “disrespectful” social media comments.
It was confirmed this week that the club had taken action regarding Snapchat posts ahead of the Cumberland Cup defeat to Carlisle City.
The club are investigating the matter but for the time being three of their under-18s have been stood down after describing their non-league opponents as a “team of 50-year-olds”.
Manager Simpson has now said he felt those involved “crossed a line” and he was extremely disappointed by the behaviour.
“It’s a lesson they’ve got to learn,” he said. “As a footballer, you are in a really privileged position, and you have to have respect for your position and a bit of humility for other people who are not in our position.
“I thought a line was crossed there the other night. That’s why I felt as a football club we needed to take action against them.”
Carlisle City boss Jim Nichols said the Snapchat comments came back to bite the young United players after the home side shocked the professional club with a 2-1 victory in the county cup semi-final.
READ MORE: Carlisle United suspend three young players over social media comments following Carlisle City game
He said the players needed to “have a look at themselves”, while City players have also criticised the opposition players’ comments.
Simpson, who attended Tuesday’s game at Gillford Park, said he learned about the social media remarks shortly before the fixture.
“We’re looking into how it all happened,” he said. “In my opinion it was something which was totally disrespectful to any other football team, it didn’t matter who it was.
“If any Carlisle City players had have said it about us then I would have felt it was really disrespectful.
“Unfortunately it’s the way the world is at the moment; I totally understand that people live their lives on social media now, but as a footballer you have to accept that if you do something that is out of line or disrespectful or lacking humility, it’s going to bite you on the backside.
“Unfortunately for three young players, it’s bitten them on the backside. It will be dealt with internally and I can’t say any more about it at the moment.
“The three lads will probably learn a really valuable lesson, not just about being a footballer, but some really important life skills.
“The sad thing is, the academy staff do some brilliant work in trying to educate the lads.
“We have people who come in and do workshops on social media usage, discrimination and this sort of stuff, and unfortunately for however long it took them to put that message on and post it, those few moments of madness have put them into a difficult position.
READ MORE: Carlisle City boss: Snapchat comments from young Carlisle United players backfired in Cumberland Cup
“I hope it doesn’t affect their career[s] long-term, if they have enough ability to have a long career, but I really hope it’s a massive learning experience for them.”
Simpson said he had felt it important that the club made a statement about the situation on Wednesday night, having discussed the matter with colleagues.
“I was informed at about 7pm on Tuesday [about the Snapchat posts] which was massively disappointing.
“I look back now and think I maybe should have taken them out of the game, but I didn’t because I thought it was too late.
“I then found out on Wednesday morning that it had blown up a little bit more then decided we needed to take some action.
“I spoke to Nigel [Clibbens, chief executive] at about 8am and asked him his opinion on what I wanted to do; he agreed with me and I passed it onto the academy staff.
“It’s been dealt with professionally and we’ll see what comes when we start making enquiries, but I won’t be involved in that, it’s up to the academy now to see where they go with it.
“The massive disappointment for me is that they’ve let their [youth] team-mates down because they play Preston this weekend in what could be a title decider, and three of the best young players are going to be missing from the game because they didn’t think something through properly.”
Simpson said the actions of the players were “naïve” rather than “stupid”, and added: “Of course there’s a way back for them [at the club] – the club will have to decide what route to take. I’m not trying to pre-empt anything but I don’t think it’s a sackable offence. It's just a lesson they need to learn.
“I don’t care if you’re a footballer or whether you work in an office, or wherever, you have to have standards that show respect.
“I think it’s just about being a good person. I’ve said to the pros today that I think they’ve been a really good bunch of blokes since I came in.
“That’s all you can ask, and I think it’s a really harsh lesson for three young lads to learn, but it’s one they have to take forward.
“As a footballer you’re put on a pedestal, rightly or wrongly. None of us came into this game to be somebody to look up to, we came into it because we love playing.
“However, we are put on a pedestal and that means you’re there to be knocked down. You have to go about your life to not give anybody an opportunity to do that.
“Sadly, on Tuesday night, there were things that went on that allowed people to throw mud at us. I don’t like that. Whether I’m here for seven weeks or seven years, it’s not acceptable.
“That’s the standards I think you have to have as a professional. Carlisle United Football Club cannot give [people] the chance to throw things at us and hopefully that’s the last time it happens.”
United’s defeat on Tuesday, despite fielding a number of professionals, cost them the chance to retain the county cup.
The Blues’ side included the likes of Lewis Alessandra, Tyrese Omotoye, Gime Toure, Magnus Norman, Owen Windsor, Josh Dixon and Lewis Bell.
Asked if those involved had wasted a chance to impress, Simpson said: “I didn’t really see it as an audition, I saw it as an extension of training to get fit and get match minutes under their belt.
“Only they can tell me whether or not they worked as hard as they possibly could.
“My eyes told me one side of it, and maybe even the result tells us a side of it as well.
“I don’t look at it as though people have closed the door on themselves getting in. I’ll make that judgement in training sessions and things I see, when they come on as a substitute and stuff like that.
“They certainly didn’t do themselves any favours in that game, that’s for sure. That should have been a game, especially after going 1-0 up, we shod have grabbed that by the scruff of the neck and strangled the life out of it. Sadly we didn’t and we move on.”
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