In that short window he was tarred and feathered by people who identified themselves as United fans. Part of what they discovered was a disturbing normalisation of how online abuse was processed by its targets and victims. It goes beyond players too: their research showed that 73 per cent of fans had received online abuse from other football fans. The headline outcomes of Doyle’s research were that one in four male intercounty players had experienced online abuse, and that its biggest source was Twitter. A colony of United fans tried to get him back on Twitter.

Source: The Irish Times March 21, 2026 10:30 UTC