McClean refuses to wear poppy on Remembrance Sunday

McClean refuses to wear poppy on eve of Remembrance Sunday as Sunderland suffer defeat


Controversial Sunderland winger James McClean refused to wear a poppy in the 2-1 defeat at Everton.
All Sunderland and Everton players wore the specially commissioned shirts featuring a poppy on the chest as part of the Remembrance Sunday commemoration.
Sunderland have been one of the leading clubs in acknowledging the annual event and were one of the first to commission the shirts and auction them for the Poppy Appeal.

Not for me: James McClean did not have a poppy sewn onto his shirt during Sunderland's match at Everton
But the Londonderry-born Republic of Ireland international asked to wear his usual shirt when he was recalled by
Sunderland manager Martin O'Neill, who was also born and brought up in Derry, and played for Northern Ireland, wore a poppy on his post-match suit but did not wear one on his training kit during the defeat for Sunderland, who have still not won at Goodison since 1996.

Respectful: The entire Everton team and McLean's Sunderland team-mates wore poppies and observed the minute's silence before the game


Sunderland have distanced themselves from McClean's decision and have again given their full support to the appeal.
A club spokesman said: 'As a club Sunderland AFC wholeheartedly supports the Remembrance Commemorations. It was James’ personal choice not to wear a shirt on this occasion.'
The 23-year-old former League of Ireland midfielder, who broke into the Sunderland squad following O'Neill's appointment at the Stadium of Light less than a year ago, has been embroiled in controversy in the last 12 months as a result of his Republican views.
He upset fans of Northern Ireland when he switched allegiance for the Republic, despite playing at under-age for the country of his birth, and then exacerbated the situation when he posted abusive and sarcastic tweets aimed at people in the North.
McClean finally came off Twitter at the start of this season, to the relief of O'Neill, after he sent abusive tweets aimed at Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni when he was left out of their World Cup qualifier in Kazakhstan.
However, McClean has now re-opened his Twitter account but was urged by the club to stay off the social media site and not get embroiled in the debate which was gathering pace after the game.
By contrast with McClean, Sunderland striker Connor Wickham - whose father is in the Army - posted a tweet in support of British troops and the annual campaign


Quick change: John O'Shea wore his poppy shirt in the first-half, but changed it for the final 45 minutes
Sunderland issued the one-off shirts to auction for funds for the Royal British Legion and several players changed shirts at the break, as is normal practice.
Republic of Ireland international O’Shea, who was stand-in captain in place of Lee Cattermole, carried a wreath to the centre circle before the game with Phil Neville and was accompanied by three members of the armed forces.
A minute’s silence was impeccably observed at all grounds.

McClean is now on international duty with the Republic of Ireland, ahead of their home friendly against Greece, and is unlikely to comment on his decision not to wear the poppy shirt.

McClean was bought from Derry City, his home club, where his insatiable desire to become a Premier League footballer stood out in one of the most deprived areas of the United Kingdom and Ireland.




In my view the ****er can rot in the reserves or the Championship from now on as 1 hes not as good as he thinks he is, 2 hes a thick twat, 3 ive gone right off him

 

Had about 300 posts on this mate, asking for trouble.

 

Think this has been done, Rog.

You're right tho.

x

 

This was done to death the other day, and in the end had to be pulled as it got out of hand..
My view on the matter is that it is not compulsory, and should always be down to personal choice.
You could argue that with the likes of Tevez wearing the poppy on their shirts, why on earth couldn't McClean.
However, McClean comes from an area with a very divided community where the symbol of the poppy is regarded differently from other parts of the UK, and if he had chosen to wear it he could have faced repercussions when he went back home.
It is my opinion that McClean was in a damned if you do and damned if you don't situation over this..

 

In my view the ****er can rot in the reserves or the Championship from now on as hes not as good as he thinks he is, hes a thick twat, and ive gone right off him

 

Did Martin wear a poppy?

x

 

Not for the game but when he stuck his suit on... Yep.

 

I agree with that he is not the brightest bulb in the box, but I will not hold it against him for making the choice he did. As for his ability, I would definitely say that he looks out of sorts at the moment, and on current form probably doesn't deserve his place in the first team. However, he has shown that he is better than what he is showing at present, so I still have high hopes that he can regain his form.

 

In other news, Bin Laden has been killed by US special forces in Pakistan.

 

F**k me, Top tIer Toon.

East or West Pakistan?

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