St Johnstone investigate MacPherson over Tommy Robinson message

St Johnstone FC are investigating after midfielder Cammy MacPherson shared a post by far-right activist Tommy Robinson on social media.

The 25-year-old retweeted a video of the English Defence League founder repeating false claims he made about a refugee that landed him in jail. lost a defamation case in 2021.

Fans of the club expressed their anger over the post on social media, with MacPherson subsequently deleting the retweet and making his X profile private.

The BBC understands that St Johnstone is aware of the matter and is dealing with the matter internally.

The action follows violent unrest involving far-right groups in cities across England and Northern Ireland over the past week.

Police officers have been injured, places of worship attacked and businesses set alight, including a Holiday Inn Express in Manvers, near Rotherham, which used to house more than 200 asylum seekers.

The unrest began the night after three young girls were killed in a knife attack at a dance class in Southport.

Mr Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, has since posted about “pro-British” demonstrations in cities including Glasgow next month, saying “the British are rising up”.

MacPherson re-shared a post by Mr Yaxley-Lennon from July 27, two nights before the stabbing, in which he promoted his film as “Britain’s banned documentary”.

St Johnstone’s supporters were quick to express their disapproval.

A fan wrote on X, formerly Twitter: “When you have as many good people as Saints trying to build an inclusive club then it’s absolutely amazing when you retweet midfielder (swear word) Robinson.”

Another said: “When you see Cammy MacPherson retweeting Tommy Robinson’s bile it just confirms that the lad is an absolute clown and a hopeless footballer. The sooner he’s out of the team the better.”

Mr Yaxley-Lennon, an anti-Islam activist, is the subject of an arrest warrant after leave the country on the eve of an important legal case against him.

In 2018, his Twitter account was suspended after the company accused him of violating its rules on hateful conduct.

However, last year he was reinstated to the platform after it was purchased by Elon Musk.

Former Twitter executive Bruce Daisley previously said Musk was “largely responsible” for bringing Robinson back to the platform.

He said this had amplified Robinson’s voice “to the extent that he has been transformed from a real bargain basement political figure to one of the biggest names potentially orchestrating this ongoing racial conflict”.

He added: “So I think Elon Musk plays a pretty pivotal role, and that’s why it’s such a challenge to try to ban or regulate what he’s actually doing.”