SW News: An Irish professional soccer player has sought the action of England’s governing authority as he experienced anti-Catholic and racist abuse during a match in Sunderland.

During Saturday’s championship between Wigan Athletic and Sunderland, a section of the crowd at the Stadium of Light chanted anti-Irish and anti-Catholic slogans against player James McClean. He also refused to wear the Remembrance Day poppy on his shirt which triggered the anger of those who were rooting for Sunderland.

In an Instagram post, he posted a video of the chant and stated that the Football Association (FA) remained idle without doing anything to tackle the abuse. In his post, he pointed out that the insult happened in a game when Sunderland held a tribute honoring Irish player Niall Quinn, who also shared James’ nationality.
Talal Al Hammad, Wigan’s chairman, said they were “doing everything in our power to stop this from happening, however more importantly as mature adults, this should not be happening.”

The Sunderland head on the other hand said the team has “a zero-tolerance policy against all forms of discrimination.” The team’s leader said, “The club is committed to providing an inclusive, family-friendly environment at the Stadium of Light and strongly condemns any supporter found to be engaging in any form of discriminatory behavior.”

The English Football League released a statement condemning “all forms of discriminatory and offensive chanting and will provide assistance wherever appropriate in respect of any investigations undertaken by the club, FA and other authorities.”

In British Soccer, Irish players often become the victims of anti-Catholic abuses. According to the statistics of Kick It Out, a campaign to stop discrimination in soccer, so far 70 instances of abuse have been reported in professional soccer in England during the last season.