DON’T PIN IT ON JAMES
Only McClean can truly understand what the poppy problem brings so let’s give him a break
THE annual debate surrounding James McClean’s decision not to wear a poppy on his jersey is continually referred to as tiresome.
Think of how it must feel for the man himself who has, time and again, explained his stance only to be dragged back into a mire of intolerance that poses as celebration.
We are the lucky ones who can switch off from it all. For the 29-year-old Derryman, he has had to endure various levels of vitriol for the best part of a decade.
‘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 which my family, wife and kids have to listen to, they turn a blind eye and not a single word or condemnation of any sort,’ he revealed yesterday.
It made up part of a wider point in which he was scathing of the English FA after it emerged they were examining the Stoke City winger’s fiery riposte to his own supporters, as well as those from Middlesbrough, at the weekend.
Local reports from the Championship fixture confirmed that McClean was booed onto the pitch by sections of the home fans, while footage then emerged of him attempting to confront some travelling Boro fans near the tunnel who hurled abuse in his direction.
McClean’s offending post on social media, which the FA last night confirmed they would not take any action over, instead issuing a warning about future behaviour, used the sort of regrettable language he had never resorted to previously regarding the issue of opting against wearing a poppy.
Quoting Bobby Sands, the former IRA hunger striker and elected MP to British Parliament, he referred to himself as a proud Fenian and lashed out at ‘uneducated caveman’, insisting no ‘c*** would change who he was.
He added in a separate message aimed at the FA yesterday: ‘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 and nothing is ever said and done.’
Clearly, McClean had been pushed too far. In Lennon’s case, the Hibernian manager once again shone a light on the sectarianism in Scottish football after being struck by a coin at the end of an Edinburgh derby with Hearts.
The issue of the poppy will define McClean’s club career in Britain, at a time when society there is fractured by Brexit. McClean is an Irishman who has made a stance regarding a political issue he felt was worthwhile and has attempted to deal with in an appropriate manner.
The issue first came to the fore when he was a Sunderland player in 2012 and he chose not to wear a poppy on his jersey away to Everton.
His relationship with fans on Wearside was soured and he eventually departed the club, citing a lack of support or willingness to allow him explain his beliefs as one of the main reasons for leaving.
When he later joined Wigan Athletic in 2014 and attempted to rebuild his career in League One, McClean wrote an open later to the club chairman, Dave Whelan, in which he was finally given a platform to articulate his principles. It was a lengthy explanation, over 400 words, with one of the pertinent paragraphs as follows: ‘I have complete respect for those who fought and died in both World Wars — many I know were Irish-born. I mourn their deaths like every other decent person and if the poppy was a symbol only for the lost souls of World War I and II, I would wear one. I want to make that 100 per cent clear. You must understand this. But the poppy is used to remember victims of other conflicts since 1945 and this is where the problem starts for me.’ McClean, from the Creggan Estate in Belfast, the site of the 1972 Bloody Sunday massacre, reiterated his reasoning when he later signed for West Bromwich Albion and then again just days before Stoke faced Middlesbrough at the weekend.
‘I know many people won’t agree with my decision or even attempt to gain an understanding of why I don’t wear a poppy. I accept that but I would ask people to be respectful of the choice I have made, just as I’m respectful of people who do choose to wear a poppy,’ he said.
McClean received support from Stoke fans after that statement but there was still a vocal enough majority in the stadium denigrating him at the weekend for him to lash out once more.
Stoke officials were due to carry out their own investigation yesterday, and the question now is whether they choose to stand by someone who is willing to stand by a set of beliefs many in Britain simply aren’t willing to understand.