In the wake of the great Twitter exodus, football fans have found a new home on Bluesky, the emerging social media platform promising a friendlier, less toxic environment. But as the Premier League kicked off its first full weekend of action since the migration, signs of the old X-induced hysteria began to bubble beneath the surface. Can Bluesky maintain its softer touch, or will the beautiful game’s uglier online discourse take hold once more?
A Tentative Truce
The opening salvos were encouragingly civil, with fans across the league basking in the novelty of a platform free from X’s entrenched toxicity. As one Blueskyian put it, “I’m here for good humour and polite social media intercourse.” The sentiment seemed to hold, even as the weekend’s early shocks unfolded.
Manchester City’s 4-0 humbling at Tottenham drew the expected “bald fraud” jibes at Pep Guardiola, but the snark remained relatively restrained. “I think Manchester got rid of the wrong bald fraud,” quipped one user, a gentle nod to Erik ten Hag’s enduring meme status. Contrast that with X, where one prominent City aggregator demanded Kyle Walker’s exile to “China or Saudi” and declared “[Phil] Foden’s decline should be studied at Oxford.”
Refereeing Flashpoints
Of course, no Premier League weekend is complete without a refereeing controversy or two. When Liverpool conceded a debatable penalty against Southampton, the name of VAR decision-maker Michael Oliver predictably trended on both platforms. But while X saw calls for a rule change to prevent penalty takers from scoring rebounds, Bluesky’s grumbles remained largely confined to the decision itself.
Even Arsenal’s disallowed goal against Nottingham Forest, which sparked a dossier-length thread on X scrutinizing referee’s assistant Adrian Holmes, barely registered on Bluesky. Gunners fans were content to celebrate their eventual 3-0 victory, with no need for conspiratorial rabbit holes. For now, at least, wild theories seem to be X’s domain.
United We Meme
If any fanbase could be relied upon to test Bluesky’s resolve, it’s Manchester United’s long-suffering faithful. New manager Ruben Amorim’s bow at Ipswich had all the hallmarks of a viral event in waiting. And when United scored inside 81 seconds, the “United are back” memes flowed as expected. But as performance levels dropped and Ipswich equalized, sarcasm – “Amorim out” – proved a sufficient coping mechanism. A far cry from the #OleOut brigades of yesteryear.
What is social media other than a cracked mirror to humankind?
Anonymous Bluesky user
The Calm Before the Storm?
Bluesky’s encouraging Premier League debut suggests a new era of online civility may be possible. The in-jokes and rivalries that make football Twitter so compelling remain, but without the toxicity and pile-ons that so often sour the experience.
Yet this detente feels fragile. The season is young, the stakes still low. As the title race heats up and the relegation battle looms, will Bluesky’s neighborly veneer hold, or will X’s radioactive runoff seep into its pristine fields? With legal challenges to Manchester City’s finances and ownership reshuffles at United and Liverpool looming, sterner tests await.
For now, though, football fans can enjoy a rare moment of social media serenity. Where once a questionable VAR call or a managerial sacking would trigger days of digital trench warfare, Bluesky offers a refreshing glimmer of perspective. The game’s simple joys – a Salah wonder-goal, a Haaland hat trick, a resurgent Gunners – can be celebrated without descending into tribalistic fury. If this is indeed a brave new world, long may it last. The ball, as they say, is in our court.
