Top club bans fan after ‘Stasi’ trans probe
NEWCASTLE United has banned a fan from attending matches after carrying out a ‘Stasi-like’ investigation into allegedly transphobic comments she made on social media.
Linzi Smith was subjected to the probe after the club passed on a complaint from another fan about her views on gender ideology to an investigations unit working with the Premier League.
Ms Smith, who is gay, was questioned by Northumbria Police after officers were passed the unit’s dossier on her, which detailed where she lives and works, her online activity, and even where she walks her dog.
But though the force concluded she had not committed a hate crime, last November the club she supports revoked her membership and banned her from games until 2026.
It has since rejected her appeal. Critics point out the irony, given that Newcastle is owned by the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, which has an appalling track record on gay and women’s rights.
Ms Smith, who lives in Newcastle and runs a tea shop with her mother, yesterday revealed she was taking legal action, arguing that the trawl of her social media account had breached data protection laws.
The 34-year-old told The Telegraph: ‘I’m struggling to believe this has happened to me. It’s mind-blowing that they have gone to such lengths because I have expressed views to which I am entitled on my personal Twitter account. They have behaved like the Stasi – it was being done so covertly that I didn’t even know what was happening.’
Toby Young of the Free Speech Union, which is supporting Ms Smith, said: ‘This is the most egregious example of corporate interference with free speech I’ve ever come across. It’s like something out of 1984.’
Newcastle United declined to comment.