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Vinnie Jones opens up about his mental health and makes plea to fans and Chelsea players

Vinnie Jones opens up about his mental health and makes a heartfelt plea to football fans and Chelsea players in a new video on social media.

In a new ad campaign, Vinnie Jones urged Chelsea players and fans to open up about mental health. He then spoke in an interview.

Vinnie tweeted: “We’ve got a problem! A problem with talking about how we’re feeling 🫵🗣️. ​​2 in 3 football fans have struggled with their mental health. So I’ve teamed up with @threeuk @chelseafc and @samaritans to encourage fans to #TalkMoreThanFootball”

He said in the video shared by Sky Sports: “The working class fans, you know, they’re getting up in, you know, they’re getting up in the dark. They’re coming home in the dark. It’s freezing cold, it’s raining. They’re doing jobs they don’t want to and it’s how they express theirselves on every other Saturday at a home game and, you know, foaming at the mouth at other other players and stuff like that.

“You know, I think they’ve got a responsibility to the younger generation to try and say, look, you know, especially when you’ve been through real tragedy, when you lose somebody or you’ve got somebody that’s turning the wheel, that’s real hardship.

“You know, losing a game of sport is not life and death. We’ve got to get some margins. You should be going there encouraging the youngsters to enjoy that day, you know, and to cheer their team on, not spend 90 minutes foaming at the mouth at the opposition.”

Chatting with the Mirror, he said: “I’m enjoying the joy in life. I think I’ve learned a little bit that ego is not your Amigo.”

On alcoholism and mental health struggles: “I was 19 or 20 before I even had a drink.” But it didn’t take long for addiction to take over.

“It’s all rot. You’re rotting from the inside out. I didn’t talk about it to anybody.”

He blames drink for his behaviour, having struggled with his mental health from when he was young, and bottled up childhood trauma off the back of his parents’ divorce, and while his boozing was initially for fun, it became worse after being arrested in 1997 for beating his neighbour while drunk, and convicted of assault and criminal damage. The following after he bit the Mirror journalist Ted Oliver’s nose down to the bone while in 2003 he served community service for assaulting a passenger on a flight to Japan.

“You drop all your morals ,” says Vinnie on heavy drinking. “Your moral standards drop, and it’s all about the fact I didn’t have anyone to talk to.” Vinnie’s mental health got so bad that he even contemplated suicide in the late 1990s, embarrassed by his behaviour and the strain he was putting on his personal relationships – including that with his beloved late wife Tanya.

Looking back on his drinking, he says: “I think it clouds the passion. You know, the passion becomes misty, it becomes clockwork. “Other people say in AA, you’re a functioning alcoholic. You’re a functioning drinker. Yes, you can have a few pints because you’re in your 20s. You can run it off and you can get on with it, but drinking is a young man’s sport.

“During my football career, I spent a lot of time in pubs. I went to the pub and played cards with the lads at two o’clock.

“And the talk was mainly about football, to be honest. That’s why we’re trying to say to football fans now, let’s also talk about each other a little bit.

“I think people can relate to me because I’ve actually put my heart on my sleeve, and kind of come out if you like.”

He spoke about the ‘laddish culture’ surrounding sport which makes it tough to open up on mental health, confessing to being vulnerable, or talking about sexuality and being gay.

“I’m passionate about this,” Vinnie adds. “My daughter came out six years ago. She’s getting married in June to her girlfriend. We have a bit of a modern family. It’s nice not to be a dinosaur.”

On Paul Gascoigne: “He’s up and down. It’s how the disease is activated at the time, and that’s what these diseases do.”

On losing wife Tanya in 2019, who died after a six-year battle with cancer: “You know, after four months, four years, five years, 10 years, you just keep moving forwards, the grief is always going to be in there. It’s how other things can control it. It’s how much the flower can grow and and bloom.

“I think, for me, grief was always black and grey, but it doesn’t have to be. It can be colours and happy memories.”

On his new love, Emma Ford, who is also his PA: “Moving forwards, we meet other people that we are fond of and we fall in love with and vice versa.”

CHELSEA STATEMENT:

Chelsea Football Club, along with Three UK and Samaritans, today launches the #TalkMoreThanFootball campaign to tackle mental health…

To encourage football fans to ‘talk more’ with one another, Three UK, Chelsea FC’s official telecommunications partner, has enlisted our former player turned Hollywood hardman, Vinnie Jones, to deliver a rousing speech up and down the country.

In the #TalkMoreThanFootball campaign, Vinnie, who made his presence felt in the Chelsea midfield in the early 1990s, takes over a team talk to deliver a poignant message on mental health.

The campaign video premieres at Stamford Bridge during tonight’s Premier League game against Manchester United and in it, current Blues Cole Palmer, Nicolas Jackson, Robert Sanchez and Alfie Gilchrist look set to receive the infamous hair-dryer treatment. Instead, Vinnie candidly uses his own struggles to encourage them to reach out to others and ‘talk more’.

Drawing inspiration from a motivational team talk, it urges football fans of all ages to prioritise conversations around well-being within their social and support networks, including sharing the video.

Vinnie, whose movie career includes roles in Snatch, Gone in 60 Seconds, and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, says: ‘Huddle up everyone. Enough is enough; it’s time to chat. I grew up in an era when mental health wasn’t even a thing, yet it’s something I struggled with without realising. Now I want to empower men and women to talk about it.

‘To those of us that love football; we need to use those connections we have made to talk about more than just football. If I can do it, then you can too.’

The campaign follows new research of 2,000 UK football fans commissioned by Three UK which found that over two-thirds have struggled with their mental health, while one in three have never spoken to anyone about it. What’s more, only a tiny fraction (six per cent) of fans admit to talking about their mental wellbeing with people they watch or play sport with.

But the issue runs deeper than simply spotting when someone is struggling, it also stretches to taking the first steps or finding reasons to reach out. The research found that one in four fans said that seeing well-known people talk more regularly about mental health would help them do it too. A further two-thirds would like to know how to broach the subject and 62 per cent would like a prompt to talk about it more regularly.

Today’s #TalkMoreThanFootball ‘team talk’ serves as a poignant reminder to reach out to friends and loved ones and start that conversation.

James Murray, interim CEO of Chelsea Foundation, said: ‘Passion and camaraderie are an essential part of football – whether playing professionally or supporting from the sidelines. But when it comes to emotional wellbeing, mental health has often seemed like a taboo subject in our industry.

‘We are proud to work with Vinnie Jones, Three and Samaritans to help address this through an inspiring and passionate team talk. Everyone can play a part in helping to lift the social stigma by watching and sharing our #TalkMoreThanFootball campaign.’

Aislinn O’Connor, marketing director at Three UK & Ireland, added: ‘Inspired by Vinnie, we want communities across the country – and beyond – to use their shared passions, like football, to open up about mental health.

‘We want them to talk about how they are feeling, be empowered to reach out and use their networks to have meaningful conversations with one another. Whether that’s picking up the phone, sending a message or sharing Vinnie’s team talk, there has never been a better time to “talk more than football”.’

Sonya Trivedy from Samaritans, the leading suicide prevention charity, said: ‘Samaritans answers a call for help every 10 seconds – that’s over 500 calls during a Chelsea match – and we know first-hand how important it can be for people to share how they are feeling when they are struggling. However, many of us find it difficult to open up those conversations and this campaign is a great reminder that we all have the power to support others.

‘We hope it encourages football fans, and the rest of the public, to check in and listen to how each other is really doing – it could be lifesaving.’

Three and Samaritans are teaming up to offer free virtual and in-person listening skills sessions for football fans across the country to learn how to have more supportive conversations with their friends, colleagues and team-mates.

In the meantime, whatever you’re going through, Samaritans are here to listen 24/7. Call free on 116 123

Twitter users reacted as Vinnie Jones opens up about his mental health and makes a plea to fans and Chelsea players…

@sargentcidered: Well said Vinny. The “netters” who spend the entire game gesturing at away fans are embarrassing. Use the energy to get behind your team. Don’t get me started on those keyboard warriors tagging club officials in their abusive rants either.

@Brad1eyGarrett: Absolutely agree! It’s important to remember that sports are just a game and our mental health should always come first. Thank you Vinnie Jones for using your platform to spread this important message.

@samplestudent62: When I was young a bad result would spoil my mood all week but as you get older life humbles you and things like football are insignificant to losing the people you love. That being said I’m lucky with the team I support of late. Ipswich are smashing it!

@Battssba: When I was young a bad result would spoil my mood all week but as you get older life humbles you and things like football are insignificant to losing the people you love. That being said I’m lucky with the team I support of late. Ipswich are smashing it!

@WDownunder: You’re terrific, Vinnie, tips me hat, listen to what the man said….

@jmarshall1964: Great perspective from a man that lost his wife to terminal cancer. The Arsenal WFC vs Chelsea cup final taught us that lesson when Frida Maanum went down….all fans in attendance fell silent out of respect & then applauded when she was shown to be OK.

@winnie4672: That was emotional. Well done, Vinnie

@tyreldo: Good on ya Vinnie 👏🏻

@southbucksblue: Thank you and well done Sky sports and Vinnie Jones for continuing to raise this very serious issue.

@CHelyarCFC: Beautiful to see. So proud of my club. Results aside I love being Chels 🔵🔵

@wrexhampolicefc: Fantastic 🙌 We want to help end the stigma surrounding men’s mental health. We believe that men shouldn’t feel ashamed or embarrassed if they’re struggling, it’s brave to ask for help and it’s ok to talk #TalkMoreThanFootball #TogetherStronger @VinnieJones65

@gmarchy14: Brilliant that Vinnie

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