On entering the Cardiff City stadium on Friday, ahead of the crunch Nations League clash with Denmark, Ashley Williams quipped; “Look at these mugs doing The Ayatollah” in reference to a mural he passed on the way to the dressing room. It was caught on camera, spread around social media and here we are discussing it.
Ashley Williams is still a Jack! #Swans pic.twitter.com/IffRtZepHW
— Rhys (@SCFC_Rhys) November 16, 2018
It has divided people, including VFTN, at a time when it’s really not needed in all honesty. Most would rather it just went away, but as a case study in tribalism and football identity, it’s hard to beat. Here, The Ben’s give their contrasting thoughts.
Ben Isaacs
I totally understand why most current Swansea fans consider Ashley Williams one of their own. After all, just like them he grew up supporting Liverpool and didn’t go to a Wales games until 2008.
Wales is tiny, and to have a halfway decent team there will be players in the squad with a tenuous connection to Wales. I’ve made no secret of the fact that I don’t like the fact that one of those players is the captain. I know that opinion bothers some people but I would prefer that particular honour went to someone who growing up would have supported Wales against England not the other way around. Someone online told me that was racist, but whatever.
I expect a national captain to set a certain standard. You are representing your nation and every single one of your teammates. You’re setting a tone. If you want to slag off another team’s fans when you’re out of your national colours, be my guest. I’m the last person to ask footballers to be more bland. If Williams had taken the piss out of a picture in the CCS tunnel while on club duty I would’ve liked the fact he added spice.
Instead he made a mockery of ‘Together Stronger’ and everyone who bought into it. For years we were told CCFC fans brought club tribalism to internationals. And that stopped. And then last week we have the national captain being stupid enough to mouth off on camera in the tunnel. Swansea fans love it (as do those ex-Bluebirds who’ve despised CCFC since the rebrand), and that’s fair enough. But you can’t have it both ways. Next time you see petty tribalism from a CCFC supporter and you feel unwelcome, remember that your national captain sets the example.
Ben James
Ashley Williams did a joke and some Cardiff fans lost their mind. Football is becoming a place awash with pearl clutching and faux outrage about the most minor things. And The only thing Ashley Williams is guilty of is that his quip was caught on camera.
We treat footballers with a standard we would never uphold ourselves. I make jokes with colleagues, I make jokes at their expense and footballers aren’t going to be any different. If anything, as we saw with Sean Morrison, they are likely to go a bit further than normal. And that’s what Ash was doing. It’s a madness that it has to be explained that way.
The Welsh team are a close bunch and I’m sure so much goes on that we aren’t privy too; but what happens behind the scene hasn’t impacted what they do on the pitch up until now. And it shouldn’t begin to now.
Ashley Williams prowess might be on the wane but he’s been an exemplary leader when some of our fans haven’t always been exemplary to him. He still fights for the badge and has led us to some of the best moments in our recent history. As a nation, we have far more than divides us. We shouldn’t let a joke divide us even more.