McClean accuses FA of ignoring sectarian abuse

JAMES McCLEAN has hit out at the English FA for investigating his social media response to fans who verbally abused him on Saturday.

The Derryman says that the authorities should be looking into the comments aimed in his direction and feels they are not taken seriously because he is an Irish Catholic.

McClean was booed by fans of Stoke and Middlesbrough for his annual stance on wearing a shirt without a poppy.

He duly put up a post on Instagram saying that “uneducated cavemen” were responsible.

The FA looked into the matter yesterday and issued a warning to McClean for an expletive in his post but said the rest of his message did not breach the association’s rules.

Stoke will speak to the player today and he could face an internal sanction for criticising the club’s own fans and making further social media comment after being told to refrain from doing so.

But the 29-year-old was angered by the fact that he was in the dock.

“Week in week out for the past seven years I get constant sectarian abuse, death threats, objects being thrown, chanting which is heard loud and clear every week (by family),” said McClean.

He added that the FA claimed there wasn’t enough evidence when he

reported an incident at Huddersfield last season.

“They turn a blind eye and not a single word or condemnation. If it was a person’s skin colour or if it was anti-Muslim, someone’s gender, there

would be an uproar and it would be taken in a completely different way and dealt with in a different manner.

“But like in Neil Lennon’s case in Scotland, because we are Irish Catholics, they turn a blind eye.”

McClean is sure to be on the agenda when Martin O’Neill today names his squad for the double-header with Northern Ireland and Denmark – although the player is suspended for the competitive game in Aarhus.