Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
TROLLS SWITCH ATTENTION TO MCCLEAN’S BRO
JAMES MCCLEAN has received more sickening abuse after a troll said his children should be tied to chairs and made to watch him burn.
The message was sent to Mcclean’s younger brother Patrick (below) who is a defender for
Irish League side Glentoran and he shared it on Instagram.
The vile message read: “I’m sorry what I said about you and your brother and your brothers kids I don’t want them to burn in a house fire.
“I would much rather James go up in flames on a chair while his kids are tied opposite to him on two separate chairs forced to watch their dirty stinken f ***** rebel b ****** of a dea burn to the crisp, maybe that’s better them dying in a house fire.”
Republic of Ireland star Mcclean, 31, highlighted the message on OTB AM where he spoke about the ongoing abuse he and his family receive.
A father of three young children, Mcclean said: “We shouldn’t be made to feel inferior or to be ashamed of being Irish.
“That message was from a kid and you think, ‘Wow’. Hate shouldn’t be in you at that age. Where does a kid learn that?
“Social media and society is a dangerous place. It’s just madness. That kind of hate shouldn’t be in you at that age. He looks about 13 or 14. It’s unacceptable.”
Mcclean has been subjected to a decade of abuse and regularly hit out at the lack of action taken by authorities. He feels the tide is slowly turning after receiving support from club-mates, international team-mates, the FAI, the English PFA and his current club
Stoke City.
Erin Mcclean, his wife, issued her own statement this week in which she opened up on the considerable stress she and her children are under because of the death threats.
Mcclean added: “Maybe she’s just had enough. It’s got to the stage where our kids are getting older, they’re starting to ask questions.
“Maybe that was the final straw for Erin.
Maybe she is genuinely worried that someone might carry out these threats.
“I want to make it clear, this is not a cry for sympathy. We don’t want sympathy, it’s not going to help. I’ve had a lot of messages recently from ex-players and players still playing and just the general public saying they’ve been subjected to Irish abuse in the UK on a daily basis and they don’t speak up.
“For me, this is not just about me, it’s about them. No longer are we going to stand by and accept the Irish abuse. We should be proud to be Irish and not be abused for it.”
SIR ALEX FERGUSON was facing a battle to unite the dressing room following a sensational bust-up with David Beckham.
The Manchester United squad were split over the incident, which left Beckham needing stitches to a head wound after Ferguson struck him with a football boot.
While Fergie tried to play down the affair, the star player was seething and made no attempt to hide the inch-long gash above his left eye.
And several team-mates were siding with the England captain.
Solskjaer does not want to see the likes of Rashford left frustrated in front of goal