Piaras Kelly PR - Public Relations in Ireland

Another footballer biography and more controversy. This time the ball is at the feet of Didier Drogba, the Chelsea striker. His biography is being investigated by the Football Association over claims that Drogba “wished he had punched Nemanja Vidic, the Manchester United defender, in last season’s Champions League final” according to an article in the Times.

This isn’t the first and certainly won’t be the last time that a sports biography opens a can of worms, but it makes one wonder who reviews these books before their release. Inevitably the book’s publishers are gracious for any controversy which can be used to fuel the publicity prior to its release. However, short term gain can lead to long term loss. Just look at Ashley Cole who was jeered during last week’s international soccer fixtures. Cole didn’t do much to help his reputation when he claimed in his biography that Arsenal’s contract offer of £55,000 per week was a “pisstake“, prior to switching to bitter rivals Chelsea. Seriously, in a world of multi million euro contracts and lucrative sponsorships, you’d swear one of his advisors would have taken a quick read of his book and recommended a few edits.