DECLAN RICE HAS been forced to issue an apology after old social media comments appearing to support the IRA surfaced.
The West Ham midfielder recently decided to switch international allegiance from the Republic of Ireland to England, despite earning three international caps for the Boys in Green.
Having been named the FAI’s Young Player of the Year this month, he is in line to make his England debut against the Czech Republic at Wembley Stadium tomorrow night, but this afternoon released a statement relating to Instagram comments from 2015.
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Under a post by Ireland underage player Tyreke Wilson, 16-year-old Rice wrote “#upthera”, while he replied to another with “my brudda. UP THE RA. Wait Till We Draw England”.
Following a story by The Irish Sun detailing that social media activity, the 20-year-old has accepted that the remarks were “naive”.
I am aware that a poorly-expressed comment I made when I was a junior player has been circulated on social media,” Rice posted on Instagram.
“I recognise now that my attempt to show support for my team-mates at the time could be negatively interpreted. While my naive words were not meant to be a political opinion and do not represent who I am, I sincerely apologise for any offence caused.”
Murray Kinsella and Andy Dunne dissect Ireland’s disappointing Six Nations campaign, and discuss the pros and cons of rugby’s new law proposals in the latest episode of The42 Rugby Weekly:
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'Up the Ra' - Declan Rice apologises after pro-IRA Instagram comments surface
DECLAN RICE HAS been forced to issue an apology after old social media comments appearing to support the IRA surfaced.
The West Ham midfielder recently decided to switch international allegiance from the Republic of Ireland to England, despite earning three international caps for the Boys in Green.
Having been named the FAI’s Young Player of the Year this month, he is in line to make his England debut against the Czech Republic at Wembley Stadium tomorrow night, but this afternoon released a statement relating to Instagram comments from 2015.
Under a post by Ireland underage player Tyreke Wilson, 16-year-old Rice wrote “#upthera”, while he replied to another with “my brudda. UP THE RA. Wait Till We Draw England”.
Following a story by The Irish Sun detailing that social media activity, the 20-year-old has accepted that the remarks were “naive”.
“I recognise now that my attempt to show support for my team-mates at the time could be negatively interpreted. While my naive words were not meant to be a political opinion and do not represent who I am, I sincerely apologise for any offence caused.”
Murray Kinsella and Andy Dunne dissect Ireland’s disappointing Six Nations campaign, and discuss the pros and cons of rugby’s new law proposals in the latest episode of The42 Rugby Weekly:
The42 Rugby Weekly / SoundCloud
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