A STATUE at Oxford United’s Kassam Stadium appears to have been defaced ahead of the crunch derby clash with Swindon Town this afternoon.

A picture of the statue was tweeted by Swindon fans this morning.

The picture shows the ox statue with a sheet with ‘STFC’ spray painted on and a Swindon shirt covering its horns.

The tweet was met with amusement by Oxford fans, who took digs at the incident reportedly taking place in the night.

One Twitter user said: “I suppose you did it late at night so that mummy didn’t see you climbing out the window.”

Another added that the incident would act as a perfect team talk for Karl Robinson’s side.

Read more: Oxford United’s Jordan Obita raring to face Swindon for hometown club

Oxford head into today’s game in 18th place in League One, with Wiltshire rivals Swindon one place below in 19th.

The match was initially pencilled in for last month, however it was cancelled after Covid-19 cases at Swindon.

This afternoon’s 3pm kick off is the first clash between the two teams since February 2017, which Oxford won 2-1.

Keep up to date with today’s match through our live blog

Oxford United and Thames Valley Police have been contacted for a comment.