Man jailed over sectarian Facebook comments
17 October 2011
by Luke Thomas
A man has been sentenced to eight months in prison after posting sectarian insults on Facebook.
Stephen Birrell admitted to posting anti-Catholic comments on a Facebook group called “Neil Lennon Should be Banned”, in reference to the current manager of Celtic FC. The 28 year old Birrell, who hails from Glasgow, made abusive statements about fans of the club and Catholics in general in February and March of this year.
His postings included comments such as “Hope they (Celtic fans) all die” and “Proud to hate Fenian tattie farmers”, in addition to repeatedly referring to Catholics as “scumbags” and offering up Pope-related criticisms.
In his judgment, Sheriff Bill Totten stated that “in selecting a prison sentence I also have in mind that the court should be sending out a clear message to deter others who might be tempted to behave in this way.
“The use of modern communications to spread or support abuse or target groups of people because of their ethnic or racial background has no place in our modern society and has no place in genuine support for any football club.”
Totten stated that he was “require to impose a prison sentence” due to “the nature of this offence”, in addition to Birrell’s previous record.
The first of the sectarian comments was posted just days after Birrell was granted early release from a previous prison sentence.
But the length of the jail term was reduced from a year due to Birrell’s guilty plea and the fact that no specific threats were made against individuals.
Birrell’s lawyer stated "He finds it difficult just to comprehend how serious what he did was, but he does accept that what he did was wrong and gratuitously offensive."
In addition to the prison sentence, Birrell has been banned from attending any football match for five years.
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