Scottish newspaper claims it has identified injunction footballer

A Scottish newspaper has today identified the footballer it claims is linked to a controversial privacy case.

The footballer is alleged to have been named in tens of thousands of messages on the Twitter microblogging site, run by a California-based company.

The newspaper published a thinly concealed front page photograph of a player.

They printed his face with his eyes blacked out and "censored" written over the top.

Beneath the picture they wrote: "Everyone knows this is the footballer accused of using the courts to keep allegations of a sexual affair secret".

The newspaper is the first mainstream publication to identify the player.

The injunction was originally issued to gag Big Brother star Imogen Thomas and the media from naming the player over an alleged affair.

But hundreds of people have now posted messages on Twitter allegedly naming the footballer as the subject of a gagging order.

The married star, who is referred to as CTB in court documents, is said to have had a sexual relationship with Ms Thomas.

He obtained an order preventing The Sun newspaper from revealing his name last month and has now launched proceedings against Twitter and "persons unknown".

In an editorial the Scottish newspaper said it was "unsustainable" for print titles not to be able to print information which is available on the internet.

It also said in the editorial that "The so-called superinjunction holds no legal force in Scotland where a separate court order is needed." It continued, "We should point out immediately that we are not accusing the footballer concerned of any misdeed. Whether the allegations against him are true or not has no relevance to this debate.

"The issue is one of freedom of information and of a growing argument in favour of more restrictive privacy laws."