Peter Crouch claims booing players during game is ‘not acceptable’ after Guglielmo Vicario jeers in Tottenham defeat – do you agree?

Vicario drew the ire of the home fans after losing possession well outside his box in the sixth minute, with Spurs already 1-0 down.

Instead of clearing the ball out of play, he scuffed a kick to the feet of Josh King, who laid it off to Harry Wilson and the Welshman curled a shot into the net from next to the touchline.

When Vicario next touched the ball, he was booed, and the team were then booed off at half-time and full-time.

Former Spurs striker Crouch was not happy about the fans’ reaction during the game, citing his own pain of being booed when making his England debut in 2005.

“I’ve got a bit of a problem with it,” Crouch said. “You boo them at half-time, you boo them at the end of the game.

“But I think during, when they’re wearing your shirt, and they’re trying to play and do the best they can… It’s not acceptable.

“I’ve been there myself with England at a game at Old Trafford. I came on, got booed, and just looking at the human element of it, there are families in the crowd.

“I remember my mum and dad being there, and it’s an embarrassing place to be, it’s horrific. But I suppose it’s part of football.”

‘I don’t understand it’

Supporters flirt between passion and psychoticism as their very idea of fandom is being constantly challenged. Who is a “real” supporter? What is a “plastic” fan?

Fan ugliness became a dominant theme at this year’s Ryder Cup in the United States as European players were subjected to increasing toxicity from certain home fans.

Frank’s comments have furthered the conversation around what rights fans have towards players.

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“I didn’t like that our fans booed at him straight after and a few times after that,” Frank said.

“They can’t be true Tottenham fans because everyone supports each other when you’re on the pitch, and we do everything we can to perform.”

If something defines a football match more than the result, it is the crowd. And supporters possibly underestimated their impact on player performance. They are not called the 12th man for no reason, after all.

Behavioural expressions of disdain can negatively affect players in real time, and the vice versa is true.

Both Jurgen Klopp and Andy Robertson were upset when former Liverpool star Trent Alexander-Arnold was booed at Anfield earlier this year.

It is hypothetical and in hindsight, but would Vicario and Spurs have played better had a more positive fan reaction been heard at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium?

That is a feeling that Joe Cole embraced while speaking about Frank’s comments.

“I never understood it,” Cole said. “I played in teams where players have been booed when they get the ball, and it’s a real tough one.

“I don’t understand it. I agree with Thomas Frank, if you’re going there to support the team, you don’t do it. But I have many Spurs fans as friends, and they’re frustrated.

“Football is in a bubble. Everywhere you go in the world, when people go to work, you’re minding your Ps and Qs, you don’t want to offend someone, you want to be kind, and that’s wonderful.

“But it seems as soon as you walk into a football stadium, that all goes out of the window when it comes to the footballers.

“Football is a passionate game, frustrations rise and people do silly things. But you don’t like to see it.”

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‘Entitled to vent feelings’ – Is booing actually that bad?

There is, of course, the very understandable argument that paying fans have a right, and are entitled to express their views and opinions, within reason.

This is something that the proliferation of social media and fan channels has obviously complicated.

But in-person frustration from paying fans at games is treated differently, akin to a bubble that Cole references, and speaking alongside him, Ally McCoist attempted to balance Frank’s disappointment with the worries of fans.

The Scotsman understood and agreed with Frank, but recognised that supporters who pay to be in the stadium are maybe entitled to boo.

“I don’t think it’s ideal, I don’t think it helps the players, I don’t think it helps the team,” McCoist said.

“But, the supporter goes in, he pays his money, and as long as he’s not breaking any laws, I think he’s entitled to vent his feelings in any way, shape or form that he wants.

“But clearly, for Thomas Frank’s situation and his players, you’re going to get a far better response from the players if you show them support rather than boo them.

“Depending on the mentality of the player, it could finish you. You either sink or swim, you think ‘right I’m going to show these boys what I’m about,’ but not everybody has got that mentality. It can affect people differently.”

Booing and criticism can also, in a backward way, have a positive effect and cause teams to rally together, as Cole touches on.

“You’ll get some lads who will go up and say ‘don’t listen to them, what do they know? We’re together,’ and they’ll try to get that siege mentality.

“I’ve seen it really affect some players where you see their body language, and you’ll try and lift them.

“It’s different characters and how they respond. The goalkeeper, it’s a test of character, and he’s young. In a new country, playing for a big club. It’ll be interesting to see how he goes over the next few weeks.”