West Ham fan, 11, who trolled Spurs says his bullies now want to be his friend
A young West Ham fan’s reaction to the team’s Europe win has seen him beat the bullies – who now want to be his friend.
Abel Farey, 11, took social media by storm after his tearful reaction to The Hammer’s result against Fiorentina.
The viral video was taken shortly after the schoolboy watched West Ham’s 2-1 win in Prague, Czech Republic.
After praising his beloved Hammers, he found the time to take a swipe at Spurs, adding: ‘We’ve won more titles than Spurs, I just can’t believe it!’
His mum Billy Farey, 43, says Abel, who’s in Year 6, was bullied in school for several years and his viral moment represented a turning point.
She said: ‘Now those same people who bullied him are trying to be his friends.
‘I think he’s too young to understand the impact he’s had on people’s lives.
‘I’ve been getting messages from other people who were bullied.’
Abel suffered racial abuse and bullying for several years but says he ‘kept putting one foot in from of the other’ and ‘got through it’.
He said: ‘I don’t mean to sound like a narcissist but look what happened.
‘So, to all the kids who are getting racial abuse or getting bullied out there I would say keep putting one foot in front of the other.’
Mum Billy made Abel’s dream come true when she surprised him with tickets to watch the Conference League final.
Billie had been desperately asking around for tickets when a friend told her she had two spares.
She was able to get hold of tickets just two days before the game and surprised Abel with them.
Billie recorded the adorable moment the 11-year-old found out he was going to watch the game.
The pair left just three hours after securing the tickets and drove for 16 hours, all the way to Prague from their home in Hornchurch, Essex.
Abel said: ‘It felt amazing, it [getting the tickets] was like a dream come true.’
Billie added: ‘He was over the moon, on another planet.
‘I don’t promise anything if I’m not going to do it.
‘In my mind I was like I’m going to do it but I don’t know how.
‘We had to leave the same day. I got the tickets at 2pm and we left at 5:30pm.’
Abel has been a West Ham fan all his life and regularly go to see matches with his mum.
He said: ‘When my mum put an Arsenal babygrow around me I was crying and then when she put a West Ham babygrow around me I was clapping and kicking my feet, so I think that decided it you know.’
Able is such a fan that he even plays for the West Ham Foundation and has been for the last two years.
He said: ‘The West Ham foundation hasn’t just helped my football skills but it’s also helped me learn a lot more about people and social orientation.
‘So it helps me have social skills.’
Speaking about the final, Abel and his mum said the atmosphere leading up to and during the game was unlike anything they’d ever experienced.
Billie said: ‘It was so tense. We watched one of the games at home and I was so tense. I had to leave so imagine what it was like when they were 1-1.’
Abel continued: ‘The atmosphere during the match was absolutely electric.
‘You know when you have one of those atmospheres in a football stadium that you just can’t put into words.
‘When we scored there was beer going into the air and everyone was like, yeah! Come on, you irons! It was absolutely electric.
‘I can’t explain it. We morphed into a completely different fan-base.’
When Jerrod Bowen scored the 90th minute winner Abel said: ‘I felt like I could pinch myself. I kept thinking: am I dreaming right now?’
After the full-time whistle, Abel was lucky to make it onto the pitch and spend some time with the players.
He said: ‘I was with this guy called Nathan and like he was taking me around the pitch going come on, come here, from player to player.
‘[West Ham winger Saïd] Benrahma called me a legend. [West Ham manager] David Moyes said “Come quick for a photo before the stewards remove you!” I’ll never forget it.
‘It was amazing, mum was trying to get me off the pitch.’
Abel has previously gone viral online after an interview with WestHamTV in which he coined the iconic quote ‘Airport that way, Prague is this way.’
The clip quickly garnered millions of views and earned him the name ‘West Ham’s 10-year-old geezer.’
The phrase was even mentioned by West Ham midfielder Declan Rice before the final.
Billie, a stay-at-home mum and licensed therapist, said: ‘Would it sound strange if I said I always knew he was going to be a superstar?
‘I’ve been telling him to just enjoy the moment and ride the wave.’
Abel has high hopes for West Ham and believes the team can replicate their success in the premiere League.
He said: ‘You know what boys, we can do this. We can finish the path to the premiership.
‘I think we need to take the mentality, the winning mentality what we have had in the Conference League into the Premiere League and even in Europe, the Europa League.’
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.