Kilmarnock’s social media team found themselves in hot water after an irresponsible update regarding goalkeeper Robby McCrorie’s early substitution in their Scottish Cup tie against Celtic at Parkhead.
The match was just 20 seconds old when McCrorie collided with Celtic winger Nicolas Kuhn, who had burst through on goal. The Killie keeper came off worse in the accidental coming together and was unable to continue, with Kieran O’Hara replacing him between the sticks.
Kilmarnock’s Twitter account initially posted:
“Robby McCrorie is injured due to a kick in the head after 20 seconds.”
The wording immediately raised eyebrows as it suggested a malicious act, despite replays clearly showing the incident was a standard collision, with both players entitled to challenge for the ball.
Kilmarnock updated their tweet to remove the inflammatory language, with the revised post reading:
“Robby McCrorie is injured after 20 seconds.”
While credit is due to the Killie social media team for rectifying their error, the initial wording was disappointing and could have easily been avoided. Accusations of a “kick to the head” were not only misleading but could have unfairly tarnished Nicolas Kuhn’s reputation.
The updated tweet was a better reflection of what occurred, but the incident raises questions about the professionalism of Kilmarnock’s communications team. In high-profile matches, especially ones with VAR in play, accuracy in such posts is crucial to avoid unnecessary controversy.
