Football's authorities must do more to tackle sectarian abuse aimed at James McClean

AT TIMES, IT seems as if James McClean is compelled to attract controversy, but it’s hard to not sympathise with the Ireland and West Brom winger to a degree in this latest episode.

The issue surrounds McClean’s behaviour following his side’s 1-0 win over Sunderland in Saturday’s Premier League game at the Hawthorns.

McClean is a former Sunderland player and the Derry-born footballer claimed he was hung out to dry by the club for his refusal to wear a Remembrance Day poppy on his jersey.

A section of the Sunderland support never forgave McClean for his actions and this antipathy ultimately hastened the Irishman’s departure from the club.

And on the evidence of Saturday, the bad blood between McClean and the Sunderland supporters remains.

Over the course of the 90 minutes, McClean was subjected to continual sectarian taunting by the travelling support, with chants of “F*** the IRA” and “God Save the Queen” clearly aimed at the West Brom player.

McClean let his frustration out following the Baggies’ 1-0 victory, celebrating in front of the people who had verbally abused him with a double-fist pump.

The Irish player’s action consequently created anger among the Sunderland players, with both Danny Graham and Lee Cattermole aggressively confronting McClean, prompting angry scenes amid the game’s conclusion, with several other players rushing over to get involved in the melee.

McClean, admittedly, doesn’t always help his own cause. While his explanation last year as to why he declined to wear a poppy was both eloquent and reasonable, during the summer, his refusal to respect the British national anthem was misguided and baffling — adhering to this simple gesture of respect for the country in which he earns a living was surely not asking too much.

Moreover, the star’s behaviour on social media is consistently less than exemplary — McClean frequently responds angrily to trolls and makes deliberately provocative comments, while he was forced to apologise back in 2012 after publicly attacking the performance of Giovanni Trapattoni’s Ireland team on Twitter.

Some of these incidents point to anger issues and a lack of self control that McClean clearly needs to work on. However, that is not to suggest the Ireland international doesn’t deserve a level of protection from those working within the game.

In recent times, the FA have done an excellent job in tackling chants relating to racism, homophobia and anti-Semitism, yet the reaction to this latest incident pointed to the double standards within the game.

McClean has received very little sympathy despite the horrible sectarian abuse that has been persistently levelled at him. Manager Tony Pulis essentially insulted McClean, describing the winger as “not the sharpest tool in the box,” while the FA had considered taking action not against Sunderland and their fans but against the player for his reaction.

Certain former players have also weighed in and some appear firmly on the side of the club’s insensitive supporters, with ex-Black Cats player Michael Gray tweeting: “James McLean what a Pr#ck.”

Yes, McClean should have exercised more self-control amid the final whistle, but is it right that he is punished while his abusers get away scot-free?

A few years ago, Irish fans were rightly condemned for the booing of Rangers players at international matches. The FAI promptly acted, discouraging this behaviour and educating supporters on the matter, and it now appears to have been widely stamped out at Ireland matches.

The FA therefore need to follow the example of their Irish equivalents instead of expecting McClean and others to tolerate this flagrant and unacceptable abuse.

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