Championship side Nottingham Forest gave a young fan being bullied at school the experience of a lifetime when they hosted Stoke City on Saturday.
Earlier this month, Freddie's mum, Fran, detailed the struggles her son had been facing. "No worse feeling as a parent than when your kid is being bullied," she wrote on Twitter.
"He’s so sad I really don’t know how to cheer him up. Relentless digs about his height, getting pushed about by lads double his size. So unfair. Here is him happy. I want this smile back."
No worse feeling as a parent than when your kid is being bullied. he’s so sad I really don’t know how to cheer him up. Relentless digs about his height, getting pushed about by lads double his size. So unfair 🥺 here is him happy I want this smile back #Arsenal #StopBullying
The story was met with incredible kindness from the football community. Arsenal striker Alexandre Lacazette responded to the post by inviting the pair to a game before saying "bullies will never win".
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Alex Scott, who had three different spells at Arsenal, was also sad to hear of Freddie being bullied. "Let's get him along to the Arsenal WFC Champions League game in March," she wrote.
"I will sit with him. We can both cheer the team on to a win together. I will sign a copy of my book for him in September also."
Other familar faces in the comments section included champion jockey Frankie Dettori, YouTube star ChrisMD and Arsenal youngster Charlie Patino, who sent the youngster a pair of match worn boots.
Hi Fran, really sorry to hear about your son’s situation. Id love to invite you both to a game. Bullies will never win. Please check your dm ♣️❤️
@CharliePatino10 thank you so much for sending these to Freddie and for checking up on him. Such a class act and star ⭐️ @Arsenal
A week later and after hundreds of positive messages on social media, Freddie, from Nottingham, was given the VIP treatment after being invited to The City Ground by owner Miltiadis Marinakis, the son of owner Evangelos.
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And ahead of kick-off against Stoke, the 12-year-old was given a behind-the-scenes tour of the stadium.
He bumped into Forest manager Steve Cooper and in-form defender Djed Spence during the visit. In fact, it is believed Freddie - an Arsenal fan - asked Spence to sign for the Gunners when they met after full-time.
This is great to see.
What an owner @mil7iadis is, really looked after Freddie today. Such a lovely guy really made us feel super welcome ❤️. @NFFC
Freddie's mum Fran was so thankful for the kind messages following her post on Twitter.
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"Thank you so much for all the support Arsenal fans and from people all over the world," she said. "I’ve had 100's of messages asking if they can send cards/letters he would love that but not sure how to safely put our address on Twitter.
"A small smile from him this morning, first in weeks."
Happy 12th Birthday Freddie. Keep being you never change 💙❤️ Thank you @Arsenal for the birthday card and @choafhoffman and @Frimpon for sorting it
Keep your chin up, Freddie. The bullies will never win.
Featured Image Credit: @Jolilfred/TwitterTopics: Nottingham Forest, EFL Championship, Stoke City
