A Scottish football club was ruthlessly mocked online after they unveiled a statue of William Wallace, the famous knight from the First War of Scottish Independence who helped defeat the English army at the Battle of Stirling Bridge in September 1297.
The "Freedom" sculpture—which the National newspaper in Scotland said was "based on a likeness of Mel Gibson of Braveheart"—was installed on Sunday by the Brechin City Football Club Glebe Park.
But social media users were not impressed.
Brechin City FC enthusiastically tweeted about the "Braveheart statue unveiling" early Monday morning.
The sculpture officially called "Spirit of Wallace," and created by local artist Tom Church, had been in storage after it was subjected to a decade of vandalism at its previous site in the Wallace Monument in Stirling.
The club said at the unveiling ceremony:
"The sun and crowds came out for a fantastic day to honor the craftsmanship of Brechiner Tommy Church and it was brilliant to see the community of all ages turn out in numbers to support the event."
Now that the Braveheart statue was publicly revealed at its new home, it was subjected to renewed mockery online.
Another part of the statue, specfically the decapitated head at the foot of the famous knight, was not exempt from criticism.
Whether or not the controversial artwork becomes yet again a target for vandals will remain to be seen.
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