POLICE were last night investigating vile Twitter messages aimed at terminally ill former Rangers legend Fernando Ricksen.
The Dutch star touched the hearts of more than 42,000 fans as he was welcomed on to the Ibrox pitch at half-time in Saturday’s League One clash with East Fife.
Ricksen, 37, recently revealed he has incurable motor neurone disease and he was visibly moved as he took the fans’ applause.
But later a sick message was posted on the Twitter account of 21-year-old Ciaran Wallace, of Coatbridge, Lanarkshire.
It read: “Frenando (sic) ricksen you won’t see ten in a row!!! #celtic#rangers#deed#haha.”
Other disgusting messages were also posted on McDonald’s worker Wallace’s Facebook account, including one mocking the death of soldier Lee Rigby, murdered by Islamist extremists in Woolwich last May.
The Facebook entry reads: “Free the woolwich two!!! Where’s your head at!!!!!??”
Wallace, a member of a Republican flute band, last night deleted his social media accounts, which were riddled with similar smears and insults.
But when confronted by the Record over his behaviour, he hid behind his mum and whimpered for her to shut the door.
Cowering Wallace also claimed that both his Facebook and Twitter accounts had been simultaneously hacked and that he hadn’t made the sickening posts.
The Record received a barrage of calls and emails from angry readers who saw his Ricksen rant.
One caller said: “I was checking out Fernando Ricksen’s reception at Ibrox by doing a Twitter search for his name and this entry was the first thing I saw.
“I was staggered and so were my friends. This goes beyond teasing or any kind of banter. As I looked into this guy’s social media sites, it was clear that he does this kind of thing for sport.
“There are laws to protect the public from stuff like this. Police should throw the book at him.”
When we attempted to speak to Wallace at his home last night, he refused to come to the door.
It was answered by a middle-aged woman who said the messages had been posted on Wallace’s account by someone else. She said: “Someone must have hacked in. I have contacted the police about it.”
In the background, Wallace appeared to be sobbing and saying: “Mum, shut the door. Stop talking to them.”
Last night, Wallace’s employers, McDonald’s, were probing the online posts.
A spokesman said: “We have been made aware of comments that have been attributed to an employee and we are investigating as a matter of urgency.”
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