Drogheda United soccer player Luke Rossiter has said he “doesn’t really know” why he tweeted that he was “delighted for Paddy Jackson” and why he criticised the complainant following last week’s Belfast rape trial verdict.

Drogheda United soccer player Luke Rossiter has said he “doesn’t really know” why he tweeted that he was “delighted for Paddy Jackson” and why he criticised the complainant following last week’s Belfast rape trial verdict.

The Belfast rape trial ended last week. The past few weeks saw the mix seethe, as preoccupations intersected in Belfast’s Court No. 12: crime, celebrity, sex, power, class, sport. All of it.

Social media has seen both promises of demonstrations, and now-deleted controversial comments from sports players, following the Belfast rape trial.