A video of Northern Irish soccer fans singing "We hate Catholics" was circulated online on Monday.Piarais Mac Alastair, Twitter
Irish FA says people singing the song could face a ban
A video of Northern Irish soccer fans singing “we hate Catholics” has been widely condemned.
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On Twitter, Piarais Mac Alastair shared the video in a tweet which has now gotten more than 2 thousand likes on Monday, March 25.
The 20-second video features a group of people dancing and singing “We hate Catholics, everybody hates Roman Catholics” along to the tune of Tiffany’s ‘I Think We’re Alone Now.’
Good to see our wee county @NorthernIreland fans belting out the famous “we hate Roman Catholics”. pic.twitter.com/rB5eweX1DX
— Piarais Mac Alastair (@piarais91) March 25, 2019
MLA Naomi Long, Alliance Party Leader & East Belfast Assembly Member, was among those who replied to Mac Alastair’s tweet asking to verify where and when the video came from.
Do you have any idea when it was taken. It's just that if it's old footage it might be harder to act on. Thanks.
— Naomi Long MLA (@naomi_long) March 25, 2019
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Mac Alastair replied that the video was taken in a Belfast pub on Sunday evening:
This was taken in the Royal Bar in Sandy Row on Sunday Night. Names to follow.
— Piarais Mac Alastair (@piarais91) March 25, 2019
Mac Alastair also clarified that he was not the one who took the video but rather it was sent to him by a friend.
Long replied shortly thereafter urging the PSNI to respond:
I hope that @NorthernIreland will work with the @PoliceServiceNI and real fans to verify this clip, identify those involved and ensure they are banned from future games.
No place for this anywhere. None.#GiveSectarianismTheBoot #KickSectarianismOutOfSport https://t.co/yFazsA8DSS
— Naomi Long MLA (@naomi_long) March 25, 2019
The video was circulated online after Northern Ireland’s 2-1 victory over Belarus in the European Championship Qualifier at Windsor Park on March 24.
Northern Ireland Football Association replied directly to Mac Alastair’s tweet saying the song was “utterly wrong:”
This is utterly wrong and we condemn sectarianism in any form.
— Northern Ireland (@NorthernIreland) March 25, 2019
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The Belfast Telegraph reports that an Irish FA spokesperson said: "The Irish FA condemns sectarianism of any kind."
"The chanting in the video was wrong and if those involved can be identified, the Association will work to ensure that they are prevented from getting tickets for Northern Ireland matches.”