21 Jan 2010Manchester clubs 'ban players from Twitter'

Football Clubs News | Football Technology and Stadia

Players at Manchester United and Manchester City have been told not to use social networking portals such as Twitter and Facebook.

Manchester United issued a statement claiming that none of their players have a presence on such websites after a host of fake profiles were set up in the names of stars such as Wayne Rooney and Rio Ferdinand.

According to the Manchester Evening News, Manchester City have also advised their players against setting up a Twitter or Facebook account.

Commenting on the reason for the ban, Old Trafford spokesperson Phil Townsend told the newspaper: "Firstly, there are people out there who impersonate [the players] and secondly what is said on there often gets taken out of context by the media."

However, social media experts have criticised the decision to prevent players from communicating with fans in this way.

Eb Adeyeri, digital director at Lewis PR, said that the websites should be seen as "a medium for clubs to better engage with their supporters, wherever they may be".

Ryan Babel was recently forced to apologise to Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez after using his Twitter page to reveal he had been left out of the squad for last weekend's game against Stoke City.

Written by Terry Mitchell

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