Boy, 14, arrested over alleged Jay Beatty abuse

A 14-year-old boy has been arrested by police probing an alleged offensive comment on social media about Celtic superfan Jay Beatty.

Jay Beatty shares a seat on the bench with Celtic defender Mikael Lustig. Picture: SNS

Jay, 11, who is from Lurgan in Co Armagh, has Down’s syndrome, and hit the headlines when former Celtic striker Georgios Samaras plucked him from the crowd during the Hoops squad’s lap of honour after winning the 2014/15 Scottish Premiership title.

He also won the Goal of the Month competition in January after a public vote picked the youngster’s half-time penalty during a match between Celtic and Hamilton.

A spokesperson for Police Scotland said that offensive comments about the 11-year-old had allegedly been posted on Friday.

A 14-year-old boy has since been arrested in connection with the incident, with a report due to be sent to the Children’s Reporter.

The spokesperson added: “A 14-year-old-boy has been arrested in connection with the incident. A report will be submitted to the Children’s Reporter.

“Police Scotland will not tolerate hate crime in any form.”