Football unites with Prince William by signing ‘Mentally Healthy Football’ declaration as David Beckham imagines ‘brutal’ red card with social media age

David Beckham believes social media would have made the “brutal” reaction to his 1998 World Cup red card even worse, with the criticism faced by footballers today significantly harsher than what the former England captain had to face.

Beckham’s comments came at a mental health summit organised by the Duke of Cambridge, who has been at the forefront of the ‘Heads Up’ campaign that will take prominence in this weekend’s FA Cup final.

With football uniting to support mental health within the sport, governing bodies, leagues and organisations from across football in the UK have recognised that mental health is as important as physical health, and have vowed to pioneer a ‘team approach’ to tackle the issue. To do this, the Football Association, Premier League, English Football League and other leading figures in the sport have signed the ‘Mentally Healthy Football’ declaration to show that the issue of mental health is at the centre of their priorities.

Beckham is no stranger to criticism. The 45-year-old was infamously sent off during England’s 1998 World Cup defeat by Argentina for kicking out at Diego Simeone, with the backlash leading to opposition fans targeting him with verbal abuse from the stands when he returned to Premier League action as well as an effigy of the Manchester United midfielder being burnt.

“I think that when I was playing, stakes were high, but I don’t think they were as high as they are now in the game and I feel there are so many more distractions and obstacles now that can affect players from a very young age – and that’s why I feel that what you’ve (Prince William) done, what you’ve created and what is happening here with this movement is so important.

“It’s OK to not be OK – and I think back in the day it wasn’t – it wasn’t OK to have a problem.

“I made a mistake you know, I made a mistake in ‘98 and the reaction at the time was pretty brutal.

“Times have changed. If social media was around when I was going through that time in ‘98, it would have been a whole different story.”

The Duke of Cambridge, who is also president of the Football Association, is continuing his mission to improve the stigma around mental wellbeing in sport.

He said: “I think this season, bearing in mind with the pandemic it’s obviously been a football season like no other, it’s actually come at quite a timely moment to have this campaign and this kind of culture declaration going on at a time where I think the country – not just obviously football but the world – is probably going to have some quite serious repercussions with mental health going forwards.”

England and Manchester City captain Steph Houghton also warned against the negative effects of social media in the women’s game.

Houghton spoke of the “unbelievable highs” and lows of his career, including missing a penalty in the World Cup semi-final against the United States last year.

Houghton said: “It wasn’t intentional missing a penalty but at the same time people make you feel like that, so I think it’s important we have that kind of awareness and to have that kind of conversation within teams for the younger generation coming up, to go ‘right, OK, social media is a great thing for a lot of things, to promote campaigns, build people’s profiles, but at the same time it can be quite hurtful, and sometimes you don’t realise people do read a tweet or an Instagram and actually it stays with you for a long time’.”

England and Aston Villa defender Tyrone Mings has set up his own academy for youngsters, focused on removing the pressures of the game.

He revealed: “I just felt like it was a really unstable place for kids to be mentally.

“I’m not saying they should come to mine rather than be at football academies, they are great pathways, but if kids ever want to be away from that and have some extra training or be in an environment where they don’t feel pressurised to win games or impress people, then that’s the kind of environment that we set up and we’ve had really good feedback.”

Additional reporting by PA