FOOTBALL hooligan Aaron Cawley, who was jailed for assaulting goalkeeper Chris Kirkland during a televised match, is facing an online backlash from sports fans.
Thousands of people have 'liked' a Facebook group celebrating his imprisonment, after he was jailed for four months for slapping Kirkland in the face during a Sheffield Wednesday versus Leeds United match this month.
Depicting the grinning face of the 21-year-old, from Cheltenham, immediately after the incident, the group's headline jeers: "Not smiling now".
It continues: "Thug Aaron Cawley has been jailed for four months for assaulting Chris Kirkland. Facebook 'like' if you are happy to see this idiot sent to prison."
The group, created by independent football website Caught Offside, has so far received nearly 200,000 likes along with more than 10,000 comments – most of which have condemned his actions.
It comes as a wave of online criticism is being directed at Cawley, who was also slapped with a lifetime ban by his beloved Leeds United as a result of his actions.
Sites such as Twitter and Facebook are buzzing with comments about him.
The Invisible Man @InvisibleManMC posted on Twitter: "Pleasing to see Aaron Cawley pay for his actions against Chris Kirkland. Four months in jail. #justice."
Meanwhile Al Carless wrote on Facebook: "A lifetime Leeds ban? He should be banned from all professional football grounds for life."
Heather Bishop added: "He has breached the ban before, he will do it again. People like him spoil it for everyone else. He deserves everything he gets."
Many people went to TiG to vent their fury.
One person, under the username Matt1006, wrote: "Good to see instant justice, but only four months? He's a disgrace to the good folk of Cheltenham."
Cawley was arrested by police two days after the incident at Hillsborough, and subsequently admitted his role in the assault. As well as the jail term, he was given a six year order banning him from stadiums where Leeds are playing. His family, from Hester's Way, said the sentence was out of proportion with the crime.
