THE father of Celtic superfan Jay Beatty has spoken out after his son was subjected to vile abuse on social media.
Thirteen-year-old Jay, who has Down’s Syndrome, became Celtic’s unofficial mascot three years ago after stealing the hearts of his fellow Hoops fans.
The Co. Armagh native hit headlines following Celtic’s 2014 league championship win after he was picked up by striker Georgios Samaras and carried around the pitch on a lap of honour.
Dad Martin made his routine trip with Jay across the Irish Sea at the weekend to see Hearts end the Bhoys’ 69-game unbeaten run in a shock 4-0 hammering.
After the game, Martin posted a screenshot on Facebook of a tweet by @KieranTant who said his son “won’t see 10 in a row”, referencing the Hoops’ run of league championship wins.
All you need to see pic.twitter.com/oY0sikJTiA
— Mitch McGarry-Wilson (@mcgarry6) December 19, 2017
Be interested if the club he follows bans him but doubt that its only celtic fans the cops charge, the plc ban and make front page of the papers
— leftwing badges (@CasaRebelde) December 19, 2017
Expressing his anger over the vile post aimed at wee Jay, Martin wrote: "Hearts fully deserved to win today, fought and won every ball so well done on a great win.
“But getting off the plane with Jay to see this all over Social media is disgusting.
“Enjoy your result but wishing the death of a child because of the team he loves is shameful and wrong."
It’s not the first time wee Jay has been the subject of abuse by sick imbeciles online.
In 2016, a Twitter troll was banned from football and ordered to serve 200 hours community service over "offensive comments" made about Beatty.
Police Scotland are also investigating after another troll, who quickly deleted their account, wrote to Celtic striker Leigh Griffiths: "I can't wait till your 4 children die."
See More: Celtic, Featured, Irish Dad, Jay Beatty, Online Abuse, Trolls
