James McClean returns to Ireland with his wife as footage emerges of him taunting furious fans after his Remembrance protest before Wrexham star called the British army ‘terrorists’
Wrexham defender James McClean was spotted supporting his former team Derry City in Dublin on Sunday, just 24 hours after footage emerged of him taunting Mansfield fans after his Remembrance Day protest.
Before his team’s match with Mansfield, McClean stood separately from Wrexham and Mansfield players observing a minute of silence.
The Welsh side, who sit third in League One, went on to beat the Stags after an early strike from winger Ryan Barnett.
A video has since come to light of McClean appearing to blow kisses toward the Mansfield supporters after the final whistle.
And just one day later, McClean saw his former side succumb to Drogheda United in the men’s Irish Cup Final.
James McClean, wife Erin O’Connor, and his son, flew back to Ireland 24 hours after Remembrance Day protest
McClean stood separate to his Wrexham team-mates observing a moment of silence on Saturday
The away fans voiced their displeasure toward the Northern Irishman as he walked down the tunnel, but he responded with a smile and a wave before walking off the pitch.
The 35-year-old was named as a starter in the clash at the Racecourse Ground on Saturday and decided to stand by his previous decision to not wear a poppy.
Players across the United Kingdom typically either wear an armband featuring a poppy or a shirt with the iconic flower etched into it when playing on the remembrance weekend.
However, as McClean doesn’t support the tradition, he instead stood on his own, a few metres away from the group of players who were paying their respects.
During the match, Wrexham supporters chanted that McClean ‘hates the f***ing King’ just moments after the moment of silence ended.
On Sunday, the 35-year-old posted a statement on his Instagram account this morning after a clip resurfaced of the Wrexham captain comparing British soldiers to ‘terrorists’.
Footage of McClean being interviewed by Patrick Kielty on the Late Late Show was published on X this morning in which he made comparisons between the IRA and the British Army.
McClean reiterated his stance was because of the ‘brutal crimes’ carried out by British soldiers when they shot dead thirteen unarmed civilians during Bloody Sunday in 1972.
McClean’s wife posted pictures of them smiling together watching Derry City’s Irish Cup final defeat to Drogheda United
McClean taunted the Mansfield fans after having abuse hruled his way following the win
The 35-year-old posted a statement on his Instagram account this morning after a clip resurfaced of the Irish Wrexham captain comparing British soldiers to ‘terrorists’
‘That is why I never have and never will wear a poppy,’ he told his 120,000 followers. ‘One thing I never have and never will do, is bend the knee to compromise my convictions.’
McClean said he would happily don the poppy on his shirt if its sole purpose was to honour those killed in both the First and the Second World War.
However, he claimed the poppy is ‘now forced on everyone in the UK and god forbid someone doesn’t wear it, the abuse they have to endure’.
McClean was born in Derry, Northern Ireland, where in 1972 British paratroopers shot scores of unarmed civilians during a protest march known as Bloody Sunday. Thirteen were killed and at least 15 others were injured.
The footballer first made headlines in 2012 over his personal decision not to wear a poppy in the lead-up to Remembrance Day, a decision which led to him being booed by some of his own fans.
He has continued this stance throughout his career in England, leading to him being targeted by sectarian abuse.
His decision has previously seen McClean suffer torrents of abuse from angry supporters that view his poppy snub as an insult to the memory of armed forces personnel who have lost their lives in combat.
The Republic of Ireland international is a divisive figure in professional football having previously issued calls for a united Ireland.
Last September, McClean admitted regrets about posting a controversial picture of himself in lockdown ‘jokingly’ home schooling his children in a balaclava, which was interpreted as a reference to the IRA
Inked just below one a tattoo of Free Derry – – a self-declared autonomous Irish nationalist area of the city in the Troubles – McClean has a quote from author and playwright Enid Bagnold
He has refused to wear a poppy as is tradition in fixtures throughout November and once posed IRA-style in a balaclava in front of his children for a ‘school history lesson’.
In September, he clashed with Birmingham City supporters when being substituted and later called a fan at the match a ‘smelly fat gammon’ after catching a cup of Bovril that had been thrown at him.
The fallout from the game also saw McClean honour a previous IRA fighter in an Instagram post stating: ‘They have nothing in their whole imperial arsenal that can break the spirit of an Irishman who doesn’t want to be broken.’
