A person who posted a “violent” social media message calling for the murder of Bolton Wanderers manager Ian Evatt has been condemned.
An account with the name Luke Watson posted a message to the platform X – formerly Twitter – saying “Can one brave Bolton fan just murder him? You’d be welcomed back as a king after the lengthy prison sentence”.
Evatt has previously criticised some fans for abusing him and his young son, as well as backing defender Ricardo Santos, after he was subjected to online abuse.
Trotter Chatter: The Bolton Wanderers Podcast, has been associated with Watson in the past and released a statement on Saturday morning.
It reads: “As you all know, we are aware of a violent tweet directed at Ian Evatt that has been circulating online.
“We want to make it absolutely clear that Trotter Chatter has no affiliation with this post, and we strongly condemn the intent directed towards the manager.
“The author of the tweet is no longer affiliated with the podcast.
“Thank you to our listeners for continuing to support us.”
Watson’s X bio says he’s one of the three hosts on the Home and Away podcast, another football-related account.
READ MORE: Bolton Wanderers stand by Ricardo Santos after online abuse
Speaking in September over abuse in the game, Evatt said: “I grew up a working-class lad in football, I have been in the game my entire adult life. And since social media started this kind of thing has increased year on year.
“It was brought in to be a tool for communication and doing good, but it is a societal problem that has turned it the other way. For whatever reason, footballers and managers are seen as figures who belong to the public, so you can say anything you want at any given time without accountability.
“When it comes to football critique, we are all in this industry and we understand what it means. We know that when we don’t play well we will be criticised, when we don’t do our jobs properly in the fans’ perception we will get criticism, but when it spills over to – for example – my 12-year-old son, or family members, we need to take a good long look at ourselves and what we are saying and doing. People are affected and we shouldn’t wait for something serious to happen before we want change.
“The last thing I will say is that we care deeply about this club, nobody more than me, and we care about getting results for this fanbase. I want us to push forward together.”
Bolton Wanderers take on Exeter City away today at 3pm.