Real Salt Lake fan is booted from soccer stadium over VERY offensive tattoo he's trying to remove as friends leap to his defense and insist he has turned his life around

A Real Salt Lake fan was kicked out of a soccer stadium after being spotted with an offensive tattoo on the side of his head. 

Jonathan Pangburn has the lightning bolt symbol used by the Schutzstaffel - the Nazi guard - tattooed above his left ear, an emblem today commonly touted by white supremacists. 

Pangburn was swiftly escorted out of the stadium at the Real Salt Lake match on July 3. A photo of him in attendance before he was asked to leave has since gone viral. 

But hoping to set right any hard and fast assumptions, Pangburn came forward. He told KSTU that he is 'ashamed' of the tattoo and it is from a past identity he is no longer proud of, saying: 'My tattoos affect me, and they offend me more than they offend anybody else today.'

Pangburn said he used to 'live with Nazism, skinhead philosophy' but has since broken away from it.

Jonathan Pangburn has the lightning bolt symbol used by the Schutzstaffel - the Nazi guard - tattooed above his left ear, it is now commonly used by white supremacists

A photo of Pangburn at the Real Salt Lake match went viral on July 3 and he was swiftly escorted out of the stadium

He was in and out of prison and struggling with addiction when he got the tattoos.  

He said he is now ashamed of the symbols inked on his body - which include the SS sign on his head and two Swastikas on his left calf and his arm, and he is in the process of having them removed. 

'I am filled with regret and shame every time I go into public,' he said.

But he admitted he had 'dropped the ball' at the football match, saying: 'I could have covered up my tattoos and wore a hat.' 

He insisted that is intention is 'to not try to disperse any negativity or hatred in people' and said he is now working to turn his life around. 

Pangburn recently graduated from the Other Side Academy in Salt Lake City, which helps those with a history of addiction.

'It teaches you how to love, gives you a life back, teaches you about friendship, accountability, humility,' he said.

He said he is now ashamed of the symbols inked on his body - which include the SS sign on his head and two Swastikas on his left calf and his arm, and he is in the process of having them removed

But he admitted he had 'dropped the ball' at the football match, saying: 'I could have covered up my tattoos and wore a hat'

Despite his intentions, Marc Levine, the regional director of the Anti-Defamation League, told local news the symbols are still offensive. 

He said: 'Hate has no place in our sports stadiums.

'This is a very haunting and scary thing for people here in the United States today. That hate has a very long shadow. 

'We also know that hateful rhetoric often leads to hateful acts, so this can be a very scary thing for someone to see.'

Pangburn's friends still leapt to his defense, with Evan Done of the Utah Support Advocates for Recovery Awareness writing on Facebook: 'I actually know this guy.

'He got those tattoos to survive in prison (where he has spent most of his life) and in the past couple of years completely turned his life around.

'He told me he needs to keep his hair short there for ongoing laser treatments to remove it.'