From Cheers to Jeers: Why these sport stars got booed by their own fans

Granit Xhaka’s time at Arsenal was certainly tumultuous, but perhaps the most fiery moment was back in 2019. After being replaced at 61 minutes, Xhaka was booed off the pitch by his own fans, the hot-headed Swiss returned in kind, telling the crowd to ‘**** off’, which certainly didn’t help to endear him to the Gunner’s faithful.

With the ongoing war in Ukraine, it is not a huge surprise there is some tension between Ukrainian, Russian and Belarusian athletes, but when Ukrainian Elina Svitolina left the court after refusing to shake hands with Azarenka, from Belarus, it was Azarenka who was booed and jeered off the court by the watching Wimbledon crowd.

England’s men's team has a history of underperforming, so when the team failed to beat Algeria in the group stages of the 2010 World Cup, the English fans had had enough. A chorus of boos followed the team off the pitch with Wayne Rooney saying, "Nice to see your home fans boo you, that's loyal supporters." to the cameras as he left.

The NFL draft is always easier to evaluate with hindsight, but there a few times when fans have reacted quite so voraciously against their team’s pick than when the Houston Texans selected Watt back in 2011. Recently retired, the ex-Texan and Cardinal is Hall of Fame-bound making those boos look a little silly.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is not popular with fans, which is evident whenever he appears in public, be it the draft or when he presents the Super Bowl trophy, the inevitable boos rain down on him. He earns in the region of $40 million a year, so I think he’ll survive.

Philadelphia fans have a reputation to uphold, which includes being rabid and loud. This was never more true than back in 1968 when a 20-year-old fan was selected to play Santa Claus as part of their festive halftime show. Boos, and some snowballs, were hurled at the unfortunate Frank Olivo, with the incident becoming part of Philly’s infamy.

ARod was beloved in Seattle during his time as a Mariner, but after choosing to move to the New York Yankees, the Mariners fans were heartbroken and they have never let ARod forget it!

Liverpudlians are an insular bunch, seeing themselves as Scouse first, English second, and given some governmental policies over the years, you can see why. Since the 1980s and Margeret Thatcher’s policy of ‘Managed Decline’, fans of Liverpool have made their position clear, booing and jeering over any iteration of the British National Anthem.

Lionel Messi will go down as one of the greatest players to ever lace up his boots, but it’s safe to say his time at Paris Saint Germain didn’t go how many hoped. After announcing he was leaving, fans of PSG made their feelings known, as they booed him off the pitch during his final game.

The Houston Astros went from being viewed as an annoyingly well run and thoughtful baseball team, to the arch-villains of the MLB after their cheating scandal broke. Throughout the 2017 and 2018 seasons they were stealing signs and since then have been booed remorselessly by opposition fans, especially by Dodgers fans, who lost to the Astros in the 2017 World Series.

Luis Figo was not the first Barcelona player to make a move to their bitter rivals Real Madrid, but possibly the most aggressively booed. During El Classico in 2002, Barca fans booed, hurled abuse and even threw a severed pig head at the Portuguese, showing their true anger at his decision.

Bartman was probably given the worst treatment of anyone on this list given his status as a fan, not a player. Unfortunately for the Chicago Cubs die-hard, his interference with a routine foul ball catch sparked a historic collapse for the Cubs in the NLCS and their long wait for a World Series grew ever longer.

Tottenham had a horror show in 2023, after years of Champions League football they finished all the way down in eighth. Along the way they went through three different managers and a series of humiliating defeats. Their fans were not shy in letting the players know their thoughts as they booed their team relentlessly.

Brett Favre was a legend during his time as a Green Bay Packer, winning them a Super Bowl and keeping them in contention almost every year. So after he chose to joining NFC North rivals, the Minnesota Vikings it came as no surprise the fans met him with boos upon his return to Lambeau Field.

As mentioned earlier, Philadelphia fans are not shy when it comes to expressing their opinions, so went Republican Vice-President candidate Sarah Palin was brought out pre-game for the Flyers opener, it should come as no surprise to hear she was met with a chorus of boos and shouts which drowned out any attempt to welcome her into the arena.

Despite being a key part of multiple Champions League wins, Bale was never able to endear himself to the Madrid fans. Seen as lazy and uninterested as he refused moves elsewhere to ride the bench at the Santiago Bernabéu, fans booed him even when he was just warming up. The infamous flag Bale held up saying ‘Wales, golf, Madrid…in that order’, probably didn’t help!