Zero tolerance

A disappointment to hear that Little Big Lad has been subjected to racist abuse on Twitter (it's not been made public whether it came from a supposed Toon "supporter" or a fan of another team), but credit to the club for taking swift and decisive action in reporting the incident to the police. Danny Simpson also recently complained of being abused via the social networking site, his abuser claiming the comments were sent maliciously from his phone by a friend.

Regardless of the outcome of the investigation, the affair underlines that while Twitter bringing players and fans closer together by allowing literally unmediated interaction (i.e. without the media as a conduit) can be a positive development, it also opens up a new avenue for abuse. As bad as it is to be harangued from the stands, it's arguably more upsetting to receive such comments directly and away from the field of battle, as it were.

The club stopped short of issuing a blanket Twitter ban in the wake of indiscretions from ASBO and Jose Enrique, though they did warn players not to talk about club matters. Those two pairs of loose lips are long gone and so in no danger of sinking our ship, but maybe the fact that Twitter accounts open players up to abuse will give the club more cause for reflection on whether accounts should be allowed.

On a different note, Little Big Lad's brother has finally been given clearance to play for Nigeria. Not that it means much in the short term - his current injury will probably rule him out of the forthcoming matches against Botswana and Zambia. It also won't affect us come January and the African Cup of Nations - unlike Demba Ba's Senegal and Mr T's Ivory Coast, the Super Eagles failed to qualify, surprisingly pipped to top spot in their group by Guinea.

Update

There have now been a couple of arrests over the offensive tweet. Teenage Toon fans, apparently. Well done on showing your support for the players, you morons.