This mock-up on Facebook of Neil Lennon in a blood-soaked football strip has emerged in the wake of bombs being sent to the Celtic manager and two supporters of the club. Last night the image on the social networking site had been ‘Liked’ by more than 100 people.
Pictures on the page, which was entitled ‘I Hope Neil Lennon gets shot’, showed the manager with bullet holes in his head, chest and groin. The site’s creator posted: ‘Neil Lennon deserves a bullet to the head!’
A similar site has previously been taken down by Facebook. Meanwhile, a footballer has been sacked by his club after he posted hate-filled messages about the Celtic manager on the internet.
Kieran Bowell, 17, told followers of his Twitter page that he wished Lennon had been ‘killed’ by a parcel bomb. Berwick Rangers kicked Bowell out of the club after being made aware of the teenager’s rant.
Strathclyde Police said the two packages sent to Lennon, and others to lawyer Paul McBride QC and former MSP Trish Godman, were ‘designed to cause real harm to the person who opened them’. Officers described the sending of the bombs as ‘despicable and cowardly’.
Chief Superintendent Ruaraidh Nicolson urged people who had a ‘high profile in the media’ to be ‘vigilant’ but insisted the general public was not at risk. Two of the four parcels were intercepted at sorting offices in the west of Scotland last month, both addressed to the Celtic manager.
Two days later a parcel for Miss Godman, former deputy presiding officer of the Scottish Parliament, was delivered to her office. The most recent package was intercepted last Friday in Ayrshire, addressed to Mr McBride.
Detective Superintendent John Mitchell said: ‘They were definitely capable of causing significant harm.’
Lennon, 39, has endured threats and abuse throughout his career and was forced to retire from representing Northern Ireland in international football after claiming he had received death threats from a paramilitary group.
He was the victim of a street attack in Glasgow in 2008 and earlier this year received a package containing bullets. He was on the touchline last night for his club’s game at Kilmarnock despite the threat to his life.
Scottish Football Association chief executive Stewart Regan said sending the bombs was ‘depressing and deplorable’, adding that sectarian hatred was an ‘unwanted poison’ in football.
Neither Mr McBride nor Miss Godman wished to comment. Celtic chief executive Peter Lawwell said the ‘vile events’ deserved ‘condemnation’.
Rangers chief executive Martin Bain said: ‘Such behaviour is to be condemned out of hand. These acts have no place in society and no place in football.’
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