Former Hitchin Town player, Alfie Barker has spoken out about the death threats he and his family have received following the abusive tweet he published about Irish international, Harry Arter, following last week's game between Bournemouth and Arsenal.
The vile tweet read "big hype just for a disappointment like the nine months leading up to your child's birth". In December 2015, Arter and his partner suffered tragedy when their daughter was stillborn.
Naturally, the tweet was met with disgust from both the general public and his club. The 18-year-old's contract was swiftly terminated by Hitchin Town.
Barker has since spoken to Justin Dealey of BBC Three Counties regarding the death threats he has received from multiple people online.
I've had every single kind of threat.
People putting my phone number on Twitter. I'm getting phone calls 24/7. [They're saying they'll] break my legs.
I feel really scared, I don't know what's going to happen to me if I go out by himself. I'm 18-years-old, I made a mistake but everyone deserves a second chance. I regret it massively...I've lost my day job as well.
I'm saying sorry because I want to say sorry and I mean it, not because I've been caught out.
His father, who also features in the interview, claimed that he has to accompany his son for safety reasons when leaves the family home.
Barker confirmed that he fabricated the truth in relation to his account being hacked, claiming that he was too embarrassed to come clean on the issue.
During the interview the teenager also confirmed that he mixed ADHD medication with alcohol on the night in question - despite a warning appearing on the label suggesting against such actions. According to Barker, he struggled to think clearly due to the concoction and published the tweet under the influence.
I just wasn't thinking. I was at home watching the game, having a few beers - just weren't thinking about it [the medication].
I think I should be allowed play football again. I'm eighteen years old and everybody makes mistakes.
You can listen to the interview with Alfie Barker below.
https://soundcloud.com/justindealey/alfie-barker-gets-death-threats-over-tweets-to-harry-arter
