Preston North End have issued a lifetime stadium ban to a supporter for a derogatory tweet about the royal family.
A source with knowledge of the situation told the Guardian that the tweet, since deleted, said that the optimal way for the week to end would be for the royal family to all die on their way to the Queen’s funeral.
In a separate tweet the fan asked whether he would be ejected from the stadium for booing during a minute’s silence, and joked that he would make a Nazi salute in Queen Elizabeth II’s honour. The club were tagged in all the messages.
In a statement, Preston said they respected every individual’s right to free speech and personal opinions. But they added: “In this specific case a series of tweets were put into the public domain and by association linked to this football club. One specific tweet, which has since been deleted, crossed the boundary of acceptability and by associating us as a club a stadium ban was issued.
“As with all decisions, if the individual were to make representations as to why our decision was inappropriate to their actions we will always listen.”
Preston had initially phoned and written to the supporter last Friday after seeing the tweet but the story only emerged on Tuesday when he posted the letter on Twitter.
The letter told him: “As a result of your comments Preston North End do not want to be associated with you, therefore you are receiving a life ban. Your season ticket and club account have been blocked from use. The Police have been advised accordingly.
“This ban also relates to you entering all Preston North End FC property including the shop, ticket office and from purchasing or obtaining any away match tickets from this club. Should you enter club property during this ban you will be ejected and other actions may well follow, such as court injunctions or involvement of the police. All football clubs where Preston have an away fixture will also be informed of the ban.”
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On Tuesday evening one Preston supporter said he had received the ban. “So because my views don’t line up with theirs I deserve a ban?” he wrote. “That seems a bit strange to me. What about if I don’t vote the same as them in the next election? Is that ban worthy? I don’t like the royal family, that’s not worthy of a ban.”
