Norwich FC scores own goal in net kit leak

Norwich City FC has apologised for its thuggish response to a teenage fan who grabbed pictures of the the football team's new strip from its own website.

The club's web designers mistakenly exposed pictures of the kit on public parts of the site, while prepping a page to promote next season's kit.

Chris Brown, a 17 year-old IT student from Norwich, shared those images on Twitter and internet forums on Tuesday night (17 April), some 12 hours before the kit's launch.

At 4.30am on Wednesday morning, a club official called Brown, a season ticket holder, to ask where he got the pictures. The club then called in the police.

Norwich FC chief executive David McNally told the BBC: "We are the guardians of the football club whilst we're here and so we will protect our property. And our property in the digital age involves our intellectual property, so we won't allow anybody to come in and take it from us."

By Thursday, Norwich City had reconsidered its position - not surprising considering the storm it had whipped up with its bully boy tactics. Officials met the lad, issued an apology, and said it now thought Chris had posted the images through enthusiasm rather than malicious intent. ®