Following claims that a picture of Michael Stone, a loyalist killer, showed up at their stadium, a Scottish football team opened an investigation.
Before last night’s SPFL match between Hearts and Celtic, Stone may be seen in pictures on the large screen at Tynecastle Stadium.
After requesting supporters’ photos prior to kickoff, it seems Hearts were tricked.
The club said today that the social services provided to its fans had been “abused.”
Numerous images of the event are doing the rounds on the internet.
A Hearts fan message request on X was answered by a user whose account seems to have been terminated.
“This is an old photo of my friend Michael (sic) entering the turnstiles at his first game in years,” they posted.
An old photo of Stone, taken in the late 1990s as he was released from the Maze Prison on temporary Christmas parole, was included with the letter.
After an IRA funeral in 1988, Stone attacked Milltown Cemetery in west Belfast with a pistol and grenade, killing three people.
In addition, he was found guilty of the murders of Dermott Hackett in 1987, Kevin McPolin in Lisburn in 1985, and milkman Patrick Brady in south Belfast in 1984.
He was released following the Good Friday Agreement, but he was reincarcerated in 2006 for trying to kill Martin McGuinness and Gerry Adams in Stormont with an axe and explosives.
Hearts has expressed regret and promised to examine their practices.
A representative stated: “We apologies for any harm caused. Someone misused our fans’ social service online, resulting in an image showing on the stadium’s large displays.
“To make sure that this kind of misuse doesn’t happen again, we will examine our processes internally.”
The game was won 4-1 by Celtic.
