IRELAND MIDFIELDER Harry Arter has said that he is perfectly capable of ignoring Twitter trolls and explained that they are in need of help.
The 27-year-old suffered tragedy in his personal life as he and his wife lost daughter Renee, but last Friday he became father to baby Raine.
Alfie Barker was banned by the Football Association from playing the game for seventh months after it emerged that he had sent abusive tweets to the Bournemouth star over his previous loss.
The player has spoken out about the incident for the first time and says he hopes that the troll “gets the help he needs”.
“Messages like that, hand on heart, I can just ignore,” he old the Daily Mail.
“Honestly, people might think I am saying it because it sounds like the right thing to say. I honestly hope that boy gets help and people have forgiven him because I have.
“I feel he is a young boy that made a mistake, clearly needs a little more guidance in his life and hopefully he is getting that now. And if he is really sorry like he said, then hopefully he won’t make that mistake again.
“I do not feel like I would want to meet him if I was being brutally honest, no. I hope once he has served his ban I would like to feel all is forgotten and I would not want it to hinder his life or his career.”
Despite the tragedy that hit his life in 2015, Arter believes it has made him a stronger person.
“For any family that loses somebody – regardless of if it’s a baby – it definitely does change you for the positive,” he explained.
“I think you understand what is important in life and what is not. There are so many things now that before I would find frustrating or disappointing.”
