Why tabloids were right and broadsheets wrong over Barton

By Brian Reade

Published 05:57 28/08/10

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You'll often hear the phrase "tabloid scum" when football fans are annoyed at a newspaper story which they see as sensationalist.

What fans tend to miss is that these days sensationalism goes right across the board, with broadsheets quite often the main perpetrators.

Here's an example from last weekend: Joey Barton's harmless goal salute, where he put his hand over his mouth and waved an arm in the air to signify he was ready to shave it his moustache as promised.

Two days later, the cover of two broadsheet's sport supplements had pictures of Barton with raised arm and headlines saying he denies his "Nazi-style" salute. But there was no Nazi-style salute.

That was clear on Saturday, and patently clear on Sunday. Yet still they ran with it on their front-pages on Monday, despite a weekend of many interesting football stories, including Fulham's plucky comeback against Manchester United the previous day.

All the tabloids I saw on Monday, including the Daily Mirror, referred to Barton's moustache coming off on the back page  but none regurgitated the erroneous Nazi line.

But then it's only the tabloids that are sensationalist scum isn't it?

Isn't it?

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What do you do on day one of a FIFA visit to check your suitability for hosting a World Cup, when your main selling point is passionate crowds in modern stadia and a league that’s the envy of the world?

Do you (a) take them to Eastlands to see the north-west derby between the richest club in the world, Manchester City, and one of the most historic, ­Liverpool.

Or do you (b) take them to an empty Wembley to meet Italian coach Fabio Capello, who won’t be anywhere near England in 2018, indeed would leave at 20.18 tonight if we paid-up his contract?

If you’re the FA, you take them to Wembley.

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