A real storm erupted around one of the most respected coaches in world volleyball – Massimo Barbolini. The Italian, who has been leading Galatasaray's women's team for several weeks, found himself at the center of an unpleasant situation after being subjected to a wave of criticism and personal attacks on social media.

After his team's latest 0:3 loss against Vakıfbank, the dissatisfaction of some fans escalated into aggressive comments and misuse of his personal photos, taken from his official Instagram profile. This forced Barbolini to take a decisive step – to make his account private to stop access to his personal posts. Italian and Turkish media reported this.

Historical parallel and public reaction

The case is reminiscent of a similar attack experienced by Daniele Santarelli, head coach of the Turkish women's national team, who became the victim of a hate campaign after the World Championship final. Anonymous profiles then accused him of an 'intentional loss' to help his wife, Italy's libero Monica De Gennaro – accusations that shocked the sports community.

Barbolini: 'I accept criticism, but not misuse'

In a special Instagram post, before making his profile private, Massimo Barbolini wrote:

Today I decided to make my account private. I am one of the most decorated coaches in women's volleyball, so you can imagine how much criticism coming from people hiding behind a screen affects me – from zero to ten... zero! But I cannot accept someone using my personal posts to attack me. So I say – stop! And I only ask for one thing – keep supporting Galatasaray and these great athletes who give their all on the court.

This is not just an incident, but an alarming symptom of the times we live in. Even figures with Barbolini's authority and successes are not protected from the malice and impunity of anonymous online attacks. The Italian has won trophies with clubs like Perugia, Novara, as well as with the Italian national team, and today he is put in a situation where he has to defend himself not from rivals, but from his own 'fans'.

His decision to withdraw from public view on social media is an act of self-respect – and perhaps an example that the boundaries between criticism and aggression have long been crossed.