DUP MP joins calls to end online trolling of Mcclean
Campbell ‘unequivocally’ condemns abuse after footballer tells of threats to family
JAMES Mcclean has received support from DUP MP Gregory Campbell, who has called for an end to the abuse directed at the footballer.
Mr Campbell has been highly critical of fellow Londonderry man Mcclean on numerous occasions in the past, particularly on his poppy stance and support for the republican movement.
However, the East Londonderry MP said he “would unequivocally and unreservedly condemn” the abuse directed at the Stoke City winger and his family.
Mr Campbell’s comments come after Mcclean and wife Erin once again highlighted the abuse they have faced since his 2011 move from Derry City to Sunderland, with the majority coming from social media trolls.
“There is no justification for such abuse. It should be ascertained who the person is and whoever it is, they should be charged and brought before a court because that is the only way to stop this type of abuse from happening,” the DUP MP said.
“As a person who has suffered online abuse, I know exactly what it means to get it.
“Whatever justification somebody might try to introduce like previous statements or actions that James Mcclean engaged in, none of them should be countenanced when talking about abuse like this.”
His comments were echoed by First Minister Arlene Foster.
She said: “I very much feel for James Mcclean and his family and often for those of us that are in the spotlight, like myself and James Mcclean, sometimes we become a little immune to that but it’s when our families are subjected to abuse as well.
“So I absolutely stand with all of those who have suffered abuse, at the hands of anonymous trolls.”
There has been an outpouring of support for the Republic of Ireland international after he shared an Instagram message at the weekend which included a threat to burn his home with his children inside.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Mcclean addressed the notion that he was anti-british after years of controversy around his decision not to wear a poppy, and a picture last year of him home-schooling his children on “history” while wearing a balaclava.
This week Erin said a fan had threatened to take a gun to a match and shoot him.
Mcclean said the social media death threats occurred before Sunderland’s Premier League game against Fulham at Craven Cottage in November 2012.
“I don’t think I was ever truly in danger, but they are still death threats. Erin is a bag of nerves because she worries a lot more than I do. With three young kids it’s not something she should have to put up with,” he explained.
Mcclean said he was used to the abuse, but it was hard to take when his children are targeted.
“There are other times I’m out with the kids and there are remarks made. People don’t care if I’m with my kids. It’s a situation I shouldn’t have to be in when out shopping or going for food. It doesn’t happen all the time but there’s a risk it’s going to happen every time I go out,” he said.
Erin also detailed the abuse the family had been subjected to.
She told Today with Claire Byrne on RTE Radio 1 that McClean’s brother had been sent an offensive message as recently as Wednesday morning.
Erin said she didn’t feel her husband had been shown the level of support offered to other players who suffered similar abuse and that she regularly fears for his safety.
“Once the kids are involved and it’s personal, that’s the ones that still blow my mind to this day,” she said.
“When he’s got away games I do panic. It’s not as bad as it used to be the first two years at Sunderland, but this past year has gotten a little bit worse again.”
On the gun threat Erin said she spent the whole match worrying about her husband.
“I kept thinking how am I going to get down to him if something happens. What do I do? It was horrific,” she said.
Mcclean first attracted controversy when he refused to wear the poppy, citing the events in his hometown on Bloody Sunday.
“People abuse me on the poppy situation but they don’t take the time to educate themselves on why. It’s just plain ignorance,” Mcclean said.
“There is this perception I hate everything English and British. Some of the best people I’ve met in football are British and English players and I have good relations with a lot of fans I’ve met.”
He admitted it was “silly” to pose in a balaclava. He was fined by Stoke City for the incident.
“I get a lot of comments saying that I bring it on myself. I get the one about the balaclava, but I would say to those people — try putting yourself in my shoes with the abuse day after day for years,” he said.
“It was trying to be funny and there wasn’t a lot of thought about the hurt it might cause, but it was from eight years of constant abuse before that.”
‘Whoever it is, they should be brought before a court because that is the only way to stop this type of abuse from happening’
THE PSNI has insisted its officers acted in line with protocol after a video appeared to show a Northern Ireland Electricity (NIE) van being stolen in the presence of a police patrol Jeep.
Two men were arrested after the vehicle overturned — destroying a tree and a lamp post — during a police chase in Belfast on Tuesday night.
The van was stolen in the Oldpark area in the north of the city shortly before 9.15pm. Police said the van driver was approached by two men, one of whom was armed with a metal bar, while parked on Agnes Street.
The suspects threatened the victim and pulled him from the van, before subsequently driving off. Video from the scene shows the van being stolen in front of a police Jeep which was on patrol in the area.
A PSNI spokesperson told the Belfast Telegraph yesterday that police are “aware of the video and would reiterate that officers responded swiftly, and in line with police protocol”.
Police gave chase before the van overturned on the Springfield
Road in west Belfast and two men were then arrested at the scene. An eyewitness told the Belfast Telegraph that one man sustained visible injuries in the crash.
The fire service also attended the scene, sprayed the van with foam before it was recovered at around 1am yesterday morning.
PSNI Detective Inspector Tom Phillips said a number of vehicles were damaged during the incident and that the pair remained in custody yesterday.
A spokesperson for NIE Networks confirmed one of its vehicles was involved in an incident.