Ever since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, trolling players from either countries on social media, especially Ukrainian players, has become quite common.
Refusal of post-match handshake by Ukrainian tennis player Elena Svotolina and the subsequent booing of her opponent Belarusian opponent Victoria Azarenka at the ongoing Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships in London, has become a matter of intense debate and trolls in social media.
Ukrainian footballer Mykhailo Mudryk has now the latest victim of social media trolls, though the Chelsea player gave it back in his inimitable style.
Mudryk had been plying his trade with Shakhtar Donetsk in the Ukrainian League before making a big plunge to Premier League in the January transfer window.
But despite all the hype and brouhaha, the 22-year-old has found the going extremely tough in the top flight of English football.
For the records, he is yet to score even a goal in his short stay at the Stamford Bridge and has often found playing time a premium.
It has not helped Mudryk’s cause that the Blues had been going through a horrid time in the Premier League with managers being hired and fired at short notice as the Blues finished a disappointing 12th in the table.
Having failed to justify his money signing it did not come as a surprise when one disappointed fan under the handle @generalktd blasted Mudryk in an Instagram post saying “Bro learn to make 360 turns with the ball it will help u change direction and be unpredictable. Running with the ball in one direction isn’t good enough. Clue.”
Normally players ignore such social media trolls as they prefer to just focus on the game and move forward. But that was not the case with Mudryk, who gave the Blues fan a befitting reply.
“Why you are didn’t win Ballon d’Or yet?” while tagging the handle along.
The fans’ comment and Mudryk’s reaction opened the floodgates in social media. Many fans jumped to the defence of the Ukrainian star.
“Just shut up dude, you have no rights to advise a pro footballer… get lost or show your ballon dor,” said one fan who tagged the @generalktd handle along.
With Maurico Pochettino being roped in as new manager at Chelsea, Mudryk is looking for a change in fortunes.
Mudryk is back in Chelsea training base after having represented his country in the recently concluded UEFA Under-21 Euro Championships in Romania, where they lost to Spain in the semifinals.
He will be lining up with the rest of the team during their pre-season tour to the US.
Before embarking on the US sojourn, Mudryk got advice form fellow Ukrainian and former Chelsea player Andriy Shevchenko “You just have to adapt better for Premier League football. The best advice is to just believe in yourself,” said Shevchenko, who is the current manager of the Ukraine senior national team.
Just as the way he dealt with an online troll, Mudryk will be hoping to give his opponents a similar response when the Premier League gets under way next month. Till then his fans can savour the way he roasted a fan online!
