THE Scot at the centre of the “Nazi dog” storm claims he has become a selfie celebrity – and has a picture with fighting legend Conor McGregor to prove it.
Markus Meechan, from Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, was slammed by Jewish leaders last week after training his girlfriend’s dog to react to the phrase “gas the Jews”.
But after issuing a grovelling apology, Markus, 28, is now suggesting the row was whipped up.
After “fleeing” to Iceland for a gaming convention, he wrote on his Facebook page: “Keep getting stopped by Americans who want pictures with me. Strange since the video offended every single person on the planet according to the papers.”
One of the pictures shows a beaming Markus posing with world-famous Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) star Conor McGregor.
He wrote about the Irishman: “On a lighter note, I got to meet Conor f****** McGregor.”
Other snaps shared from his trip show him posing with Hilmar Petursson, the CEO of major online games developer CCP Games.
It is understood that Markus returned home to Scotland on Monday morning, and was reunited with Buddha – the pug at the centre of the row.
He uploaded a photograph with the pooch, captioned: “Finally reunited with the wee man.”
His video, named ‘M8 yer dug’s a Nazi’, went viral last week and has clocked up almost 1 million views.
In the clip, Markus encourages the dog to jump around and react to the phrase “gas the Jews”, which he repeats over and over.
The pooch also lifts his paw in an imitation Nazi salute when his owner says “Sieg Heil”, and can be seen “watching” footage of Hitler on TV.
At one point, Markus can be heard asking “Who is a good wee Nazi?” and praising the dog.
He insisted that he was “not a racist” and that the video was just a joke, but his “outrageous” attitude was slammed by Jewish leaders last week.
A spokeswoman for the Scottish Council of Jewish Communities said: “Anti-Semitism is not something that can in any degree be regarded as a joke.
“It is a form of racism that needs to be condemned just as we would any other form of racism.”
When he realised the extent of the offence he had caused, Markus issued an apology via Skype during his trip abroad.
He said: “I am not a racist at all, anybody who knows me could tell you that.
“Honestly, I don’t hate anyone, the whole purpose of this was to annoy my girlfriend.
“I am so sorry to the Jewish community for any offence I may have caused them. This was never my intention and I apologise.”
A male answered the phone at Markus’s home today (Tues) and said: “It’s safe to say he won’t be wanting to talk.”
