Hull City v Leeds United: Tigers caught in 21st Century storm ahead of 'intense' Yorkshire derby

Ruben Selles has called on social media companies to do more to protect footballers after Abu Kamara was caught in the eye of a very 21st Century storm ahead of Hull City's Yorkshire derby with Leeds United.

The 21-year-old’s crime was to respond to an Instagram post by his former Portsmouth team-mate Paddy Lane celebrating his first goal of the season in Wednesday's 4-0 win over Swansea City with a smile-with-tears emoji and a heart emoji.

Kamara was on loan at Pompey last season from Norwich City.

It prompted a barrage of abuse from Hull fans already angry with their winger for not tracking back as Middlesbrough scored the only goal of the Tigers' New Year's Day game.

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MISTAKES: Abu Kamara enraged Hull City fans on and off the field on New Year's DayMISTAKES: Abu Kamara enraged Hull City fans on and off the field on New Year's Day
MISTAKES: Abu Kamara enraged Hull City fans on and off the field on New Year's Day

That in turn led to the unusual sight of Kamara accompanying Selles into the press conference ahead of Saturday's game against Leeds to apologise for his actions.

Coach Selles urged the social media companies to play their part as he tried to calm the waters ahead of what he expects to be an "intense" game in East Yorkshire despite Leeds manager Daniel Farke admitting he feels worn out.

"My experience with social media is that everything is out of proportion," said the Spaniard.

"My wife worked for social media and I've been exposed more than enough in those situations. We don't work enough to create platforms for players like Abu who are starting a playing career in professional football to manage those moments.

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INTENSE: Coach Ruben Selles has prepared Hull City for a high-octane gameINTENSE: Coach Ruben Selles has prepared Hull City for a high-octane game
INTENSE: Coach Ruben Selles has prepared Hull City for a high-octane game

"Unfortunately sometimes you need to learn in the hardest way possible.

"He just wanted to send a message to a friend but it became a question about his loyalty to the club, his loyalty to the fans, his position in the squad, his involvement in the team.

"It's a platform that can be really dangerous if you don't navigate it... I won't say in the proper way because no one knows what that is, but it can just take that kind of comment to put it out of proportion and create situations like this one."

Instagram is widely regarded as a gentler medium than X.

EXHAUSTED: Leeds United manager Daniel FarkeEXHAUSTED: Leeds United manager Daniel Farke
EXHAUSTED: Leeds United manager Daniel Farke

For his part, Kamara said: "I probably shouldn't have done that but I just wanted to express my feelings on how happy I was for him (Lane) to score his first Championship goal.

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"But it was wrong timing and it sparked a bit of an outrage. I apologise for my actions.

"I was in bed with my missus seeing a lot of comments and I was just confused as to why. I didn't really think much of it.

"But my agent got in contact with me saying it was a big problem so I just thought I needed to address it and say there was no malicious intent, it was just a simple message to my friend congratulating him on his first goal in the Champ.

"I know I should have done better in that situation, I shouldn't have commented at all and I realise my mistake."

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It was something the Tigers could have done without as they prepared to face the team top in the Championship.

"It's a side that has been very good in possession, really aggressive in the approach, attacking with a lot of players, rotation, attacking the spaces," said Selles. "They have a good amount of players with very clear movements even though at times it looks a little bit chaotic.

"The intensity has been the difference for them. We can expect an intense game and a team that is going to try to attack as much as possible."

Selles downplayed Kamara's on-field mistake against the Teessiders.

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"When we concede a goal, usually it's a team thing and I analyse that the same," he said. "We all can make mistakes but we need to be able to cover each other.

"In football, unless it's a very clear action where someone gives the ball away, usually the explanation (behind conceding a goal) is a team explanation and then we go to the individual and what he can do better.

"For us it's never personal, it's about how can we do better?"

If Saturday's three o'clock kick-off is about rising to the occasion for 22nd-placed Hull, for Leeds it is about rousing themselves for the final game of a stretch of five in 13 days.

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"It’s exhausting," admitted Farke. "You always have to be switched on, to prepare, to be quick for the next opponent.

"It always helps when you have good results, like we had in the last weeks. The mood is good and you see progress.

"When you are top of the league, it’s always an enjoyable situation, but there’s also lots of work.

"You always have to be awake, (about) what happens during the game, how you change and prepare for things. I expect a quiet January (in terms of transfers) but you also have to speak about a few scenarios.

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"It’s a busy period, a tough period in terms of workload, but I’m used to it. December and January are tough months in the Championship."

The attacking midfielder was signed by previous coach Tim Walter as a player he knew well, but has not started a game since his compatriot was sacked. The loan takes Mehlem to the mid-point of his two-year contract and Selles said no decision would be made on his fututre beyond that until then.

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