"I got a call from one of the managers saying he was sorry"
February 28, 2021
Meath's Vikki Wall with her 2020 Intermediate Player of the Year award.
Meath star Vikki Wall has spoken openly about the verbal abuse she has been regularly subjected to from the sidelines.
The 22-year-old was instrumental in the Royals' All-Ireland winning 2020 campaign and capped a wonderful year by claiming the Intermediate Player of the Year award. She saw off competition from her Dunboyne club-mate Emma Duggan and Westmeath’s Fiona Claffey for the prize, which was voted on by her peers.
In a feature interview on last night's ladies football awards programme on TG4, Wall told of the abusive sideline comments she and her family had to endure "in every single game about my weight".
"Since 2017, when I was in sixth year, I put on 10 or 12 kg that year. That changed the way I played the game, you know?" Wall said.
"To be honest from 2017 to 2019, I heard something in every single game about my weight. Especially from managers on the sideline or people like that.
"Even last year, I got a call from one of the managers saying he was sorry after one of the games about the things he said the day before. You don’t forget those things. They stay with you."
She continued: "On a few occasions, my mam was next to a woman who said I was too fat to play football and things like that. I’ve lost that weight now but yeah… many things have changed personally and team-wise as well."
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