Scottish Rugby try to remove 'despicable' Twitter posts linking Siobhan Cattigan's death to covid vaccine

Scottish Rugby are attempting to remove what has been labelled “despicable” tweets that have falsely claimed Siobhan Cattigan’s death was linked to the coronavirus vaccine.

The back row, who won 19 caps for her country, died on Friday, with her club Stirling describing it as a “tragic passing”.

A statement from the governing body read: “Scottish Rugby is deeply saddened to hear Scotland international Siobhan Cattigan has died.

“The thoughts of all our people and players go out to Siobhan’s family and many team-mates at Stirling County and Scotland at this incredibly difficult time.

“Specialist Scottish Rugby employees are now providing ongoing support to those most closely affected.”

A statement from Stirling added: “It’s with a heavy heart we pass on the news of the tragic passing of Siobhan (Shibby) on Friday November 26.

“Shibby has been a big part of County for many years and will be hugely missed by everyone at the club. She was central to the development of women’s rugby within the club and an inspiration to the girls in the youth section.

“Shibby was a team-mate and friend and we deeply mourn her loss. Our love, thoughts and heartfelt condolences are with Shibby’s family at this devastating time.

“We very much hope their privacy will be respected by everyone as they deal with their tragic loss.”

When asked about the anti-vax tweets, MP Julian Knight told The Telegraph “This is despicable. It is a horrific time for this young lady’s family and to have these idiots try to hijack such an appalling event in order to push their quite bizarre and, frankly, dangerous world view is sickening to the core.

“I would call on social media companies to act immediately to ensure that those individuals who are propagating this disinformation are expelled from their platforms and processes are put in place to ensure that none of this bile spreads any further.”