Lennon: We must clamp down over online slurs

NEIL LENNON has joined calls for social media companies to ‘clamp down’ on the torrent of abuse players face and silence those responsible. Lennon’s comments come as Celtic yesterday vowed to investigate a sickening slur on Twitter directed at former Rangers player Fernando Ricksen, who is battling Motor Neurone Disease. A club spokesman confirmed: ‘We will fully investigate this matter and of course take all appropriate action.’ In England, Manchester United stars Paul Pogba and Marcus Rashford have each experienced online abuse, while a 15-year-old boy has been charged with verbally confronting Scott Brown outside Ibrox after the recent Old Firm game with a sickening comment about his

sister Fiona’s death in 2008. Brown pinpointed social media as a platform that has allowed extreme comments to spiral and Lennon said: ‘It sometimes makes young ones think that it’s all right. It’s not. ‘Again we have people in authority and players of the highest calibre asking social media networks to clamp down on it. It has to stop. ‘There’s no accountability or responsibility for these individuals to put out on a public forum what they want to say. We live in a democracy but a line has to be drawn somewhere because it is against the law. ‘These platforms allow this illegality to happen.’ Lennon came off Twitter after finding the negativity affected him. And he said: ‘I got off it. One, it took up too much of my time, two, it played with my head a bit sometimes and, three, it could be quite upsetting as well. ‘We are decent human beings, the majority of us, but we are portrayed to be something else by people who don’t know us. ‘There’s a lot of good things that come out of social media as well. The lads do a lot of charity work or promote charities but this underbelly leaves a very bitter taste in the mouth and can be quite upsetting for individuals.’ Lennon praised skipper Brown for handling a ‘horrendous’ situation outside Ibrox and said: ‘He handled the situation very well. It’s incredibly hard (not to react). I don’t know what I would have done. I’m older now and Scott is a lot more mature. Maybe five or six

years ago it might have been a different outcome. ‘I’m not sure what that lad was trying to prove or what his thought process was, if he had one at all. It’s disgusting. To even think about that, let alone say it, is horrendous. ‘I applaud Rangers for the swift action they took and the support a lot of their fans have given to Scott but it’s got to stop. ‘We’re talking not only here, in Britain, now there seems to be this uprising in a lot of racism again. It’s rearing its ugly head. ‘We have a sectarian problem here, we know that. ‘Ninety-five per cent of supporters are really good and, like Scott said, he doesn’t mind during the game. But when we’re out and about on the streets trying to live our lives, we are not in a football ground. ‘They have no right to abuse or insult people in that manner.’ Meanwhile, Lennon expressed sympathy for Steven Gerrard over Scotland’s alleged treatment of Ryan Jack. The Rangers boss hit out at Steve Clarke after his midfielder was required to do a double training session — encompassing 11 kilometres — just 48 hours after an Old Firm game. Accusing the SFA of being ‘careless’ with the player’s workload after Jack was duly forced to cut short his international involvement, Gerrard confirmed his fitness coach has spoken to his Scotland counterpart to ask why no consideration was given to the player’s ongoing knee injury issue. Lennon feels any such complaints would be legitimate. ‘I wouldn’t have liked to have done it as a player,’ he said. ‘A double session two days later? No. I have certain sympathy.’