Footballer Tara Mae Kirk hits out at fans for 'crossing a line' on social media

Viral football star Tara Mae Kirk has opened up on the unwanted attention she has received following her meteoric rise, admitting sometimes it 'crosses a line'.

Kirk joined Peterborough United from Leicester City in July 2022 and quickly became a hit following her stunning goal-scoring exploits.

She was the club's top scorer in her debut season, scoring 12 goals to help them secure a fourth-place finish in the Women's National League.

Her performances at club level saw her earn an international call-up for Republic of Ireland, aged just 16.

Fans on social media became accustomed to the 22-year-old's goal-scoring graphics following her prolific form and was flooded with messages from users online.

The posts generated millions of views and while Kirk saw the positive side to her newfound success, she also admitted that the attention sometimes 'crossed a line'.

Tara Mae Kirk's goal-scoring graphic went viral in 2023. Image: Getty

Speaking on The Kick Back, she revealed "Yeah, absolutely. I never imagined the reactions that I've got from scoring goals. That's my position. That's what you're meant to do.

"There's always so much, I guess, spotlight on strikers. But I think when everything hit me was when the first week I'd get five million views, and then the second week I got five million. And then the third week, I got five million.

"I think it was five, six consecutive weeks where I got five million views in a row. And I didn't, in the moment, understand the hype or whatever.

"As it went on, I thought it was all just kind of a fluke, or have they got the right person? Like, what's all these comments about? And I thought, 'Oh, it's just one week. It's not gonna happen again'."

Tara Mae Kirk has shot to fame following her performance on the pitch for Peterborough United. Image: Getty

Kirk added: "It's just hype. Everything dies so quickly on social media. And then it just kept happening. I was going through the comments and trying to understand what all this hype is.

"I understood quickly that it was positive, but also crossing the line of borderline being sexist and sexualising me. So, yeah, it's kind of balancing the good with the bad. That's what I've had to learn."

Kirk's profile has helped her land gigs away from the pitch, having become a popular content creator alongside Angry Ginge for Pro:Direct Soccer, where she has created videos with the likes of Jack Grealish and Cody Gakpo.