Northumbria Police have announced that they have launched an investigation into alleged death threats targeted at Sunderland winger James McClean.
Black Cats manager Martin O'Neill confirmed yesterday that the 23-year-old had been the subject of death threats after he refused to wear a poppy to commemorate Remembrance Day last weekend.
The authorities have been called in to investigate the threats, which are believed to have appeared on social network site Twitter.
McClean grew up in Derry, Northern Ireland, which had six people killed in the 1972 Bloody Sunday massacre.