Rugby trio will be told their fate this week
IRELAND and Ulster rugby players Paddy Jackson, Stuart Olding and Craig Gilroy are to learn this week if they’ll be disciplined for bringing the game into disrepute over vile WhatsApp messages they wrote which were heard during the Belfast rape trial.
Two weeks ago, 26-year-old Jackson and 25-year-old Olding were acquitted of rape. Last week the MoS revealed Mr Gilroy was the person referred to in court as CG, who sent a message to Mr Olding saying ‘Any sluts get f **** d?’.
The message was sent the day after the notorious party at Mr Jackson’s home in June 2016 at which a 19-yearold student claimed she was raped.
An 11-member jury acquitted Mr Jackson and Mr Olding of all charges and also found their friends Blane McIlroy and Rory Harrison not guilty of exposure and perverting the course of justice respectively.
After the verdict, the IRFU and Ulster Rugby announced a review would be carried out into Mr Jackson and Mr Olding. The outcome also sparked protests around the country and protesters are expected to stage another rally outside Ulster Rugby’s home stadium in Belfast this Friday.
A source said: ‘There is perhaps an expectation that there might be some news from Ulster Rugby within the week. If they were to decide that it is a disciplinary matter, then a disciplinary process will commence. It will not be determinative of anything.’ Mr Gilroy, 27, tweeted an apology for the text on Tuesday.