THE 14-year-old boy at the centre of the twitter storm involving Danny Coles said he was shocked by the Exeter City captain's reaction.
Will Wenley, a pupil at St Peter's School and a season ticket holder at St James' Park, was stunned to be told by Coles to "f*** off c***" on social media.
The unsavoury exchange was sparked when Coles commented on the performance of England's Phil Jagielka during England's World Cup match, describing the Everton defender as "a car crash waiting to happen".
Will, who lives with his family in Pennsylvania, responded by tweeting "so like you at Exeter" to which Coles took great offence and tweeted a number of expletives directed at the fan before angry exchanges with other Exeter fans.
Coles has issued a public apology and said he will contact Will to say sorry in person.
But Will said the club should take action and told the Echo he thought it was just "banter" when he replied to Coles' tweet.
He said: "I thought it was a massive overreaction by Danny Coles and I wasn't expecting that reaction one bit. I just thought it was a bit of banter. I like Jagielka as a player and was just responding to Coles' criticism of him.
"I was quite shocked and I think as the captain of Exeter City he should act in a more responsible way."
Coles's Twitter account has subsequently been deleted and he has now issued a full apology. The club said it was dealing with the matter internally.
Will, who goes to all Exeter City home matches and several away ones, added: "I think Danny Coles is a decent player but this is not the first time he has abused the fans."
"My mum has shrugged it off as she is not a big football fan but my dad thought it was quite shocking and annoyed. The club have said he wants to meet me directly. I would be happy to do that. I do want an apology but I don't want to see him go.
"He is the Exeter City captain and should act like captain. His comments reflect upon the club poorly. This is not the first time it has happened so I guess the club should act. But if he apologises to everyone then hopefully that will be the end of it and we can all move on."
It is not the first time the Exeter City captain has courted controversy over his use of social media. He hit out at a section of the St James's Park crowd who cheered his substitution against Bury in December.
He posted: "Well done to the supporters that cheered on the substitution today, loudest I have heard u all season, if only u cheered the boys that much.
"And to chant what u did to the manager, embarrassing."
But following the latest controversy, he has issued a full apology for his comments and said he felt "totally ashamed."
"I would like to apologise unreservedly for my comments which appeared on Twitter last night," he said. "I am not going to make any excuses, nor plead any mitigating circumstances: my behaviour was completely inappropriate and I am totally ashamed of my actions.
"As the captain of Exeter City FC, I know I should set a good example to the supporters, the players and the wider football community and in breaching the club's social media guidelines I have let everyone down and embarrassed myself and the club, which prides itself on its family values.
"I have deleted my Twitter account and will be making sure that I impress upon the rest of the squad the importance of realising what damage ill-judged remarks on social media can do.
"Most importantly, as a family man I would be disgusted if someone spoke to one of my children in the manner I addressed a fan last night and I will be contacting the young lad directly in order to apologise personally."
