A Plymouth Argyle fan has been fined £750 after posting an offensive social media comparison between the club’s striker Ryan Hardie and convicted killer arsonist Mick Philpott.
Argyle fan Gary Miller had been in attendance at March’s League One game against Derby County where Argyle won 2-1 with Hardie scoring the winning goal. The 33-year-old then took to Twitter and commented: “Hardie was on fire just like Mick Philpott’s house.”
Prosecutor Herc Ashworth told Plymouth Crown Court on Monday that Philpott was a mass killer after his six children died in an arson attack on their family home in Derby in 2012. The twisted message was spotted by Derby fans, with one said to have an association to the tragedy.
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Philpott was jailed for life after setting fire to his home with his six children aged between five and 13 all inside, killing them all, the court heard. A female Derby fan on the supporters’ bus is said to have seen the tweet before showing others and leaving them horrified at the comment.
According to the Daily Mail, Miller claimed that the tweet was meant to be a ‘joke’ but admitted it was ‘in bad taste’. He also admitted sending the offensive tweet and causing distress.
However, Miller claimed that he was unaware that the six children died in the fire, which Mr Ashworth said was not realistic, but accepted he was stupid to send it. Miller was fined £500 plus £250 costs by Judge David Evans, who said the tweet was "insulting and distressing". He also told him to celebrate things in a lawful manner in future.
The case on Monday comes at the same time Sheffield Wednesday fan Dale Houghton lost his job and faces possible jail time after he taunted Sunderland fans by holding up an image of six-year-old mascot Bradley Lowery, who died from cancer in 2017.
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