Sponsored by
Fury over ‘sick’ tweet to Preston North End player
Tweet from a Tranmere Rovers fan directed at Preston North End midfielder John Welsh
Preston North End fans and players have told of their disgust after a rival fan told a PNE player he hopes he “does a Muamba” and has a heart attack on the pitch.
The sick tweet was sent yesterday by a Tranmere Rovers fan to Lilywhites midfielder John Welsh.
North End are due to travel to Prenton Park to play Tranmere – the club Welsh left for PNE in the summer – in a League One clash on Saturday.
The tweet was sent by Tranmere fan.
Referring to Welsh being a former Liverpool FC trainee, it said: “I hope you do a Muamba on Sat at Prenton Park you horrible Kopite ****”.
The message is a reference to Fabrice Muamba, the former Bolton player who was left fighting for his life after having a heart attack during a match against Tottenham seven months ago. It was retweeted by midfielder Welsh and will have been seen by many of his 6,200 followers.
And the sick jibe was followed by a tide of anger from both Preston and Tranmere fans. But around an hour later, the user apologised to the midfielder, saying: “Might have been slightly over the top that one.”
He continued to defend himself after critical messages from other fans.
Meanwhile, one Rovers fan told Welsh: “I hope you play **** and lose but that was a tweet too far. Good luck on Saturday.”
He signed off with the hashtag “proper trfc fan”.
Preston North End defender David Buchanan also joined the criticism, saying: “Good to see real trfc fans disgusted in that tweet. #2far.”
Lifelong PNE fan John Shelliker, who used to run the official supporters’ club, said: “They are sick these people, I don’t know what enjoyment they get out of it.
“If he realises he has gone too far that is one thing but what was he thinking in the first place?”
A spokesman for Preston North End: “Preston North End are sure that all fair-minded Tranmere Rovers supporters will welcome their four former players in the PNE squad back with the response their excellent service at Prenton Park deserves, just as the the Lilywhites supporters did when Matt Hill and Richard Cresswell returned with Sheffield United last weekend.
“Although football provokes a range of emotions, clearly here things went too far and the supporter realised this and apologised, which whilst not acceptable in the first place, is the right action to take.
“We are sure that Saturday will be a game played in the right spirit on and off the terraces, between two sides challenging at the right end of the League One table.”
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Preston
Monday 20 May 2013
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 11 C to 16 C
Wind Speed: 20 mph
Wind direction: West
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 9 C to 14 C
Wind Speed: 22 mph
Wind direction: North west
