Graffiti aimed at Magnier may be linked to United row

OFFENSIVE graffiti daubed on the walls of the birthplace of John Magnier may be linked to the Manchester United row between the billionaire horse breeder and manager Alex Ferguson.

Gardaí confirmed yesterday that they are investigating the incident which was reported to them by John Magnier’s brother, David.

The graffiti was cleared off the wall at the Magnier family home at Grange, near Fermoy, Co Cork, early yesterday.

John Magnier was reared in the house before moving to Coolmore, near Fethard, Co Tipperary. His brother, David, was unavailable for comment.

Magnier’s battle with Alex Ferguson over the ownership of the racehorse, Rock of Gibraltar, and his increasing shareholding in the club has angered a large number of fans.

T-shirts have appeared in Manchester with Magnier’s head in a sniper’s sights and supporters have left nasty messages on unofficial club websites.

Recently, through an offshore company, Cubic Expression, Magnier and JP McManus raised their club shareholding to 25.49%.

Martin O’Neill, chairman of the Cork branch of the Manchester United Supporters’ Club, condemned the incident.

“It was not a nice thing to do and I wouldn’t condone it,” said Mr O’Neill. “I would rather see two Irishmen having a majority share in Manchester United than an Australian or a Yank. There’s bound to be a certain amount of jealousy, Ireland is full of it. There’s a huge problem with it in Irish culture.”

A senior garda spokesman said they hadn’t ruled out the possibility that the person responsible was an angry fan.

While gardaí are keeping an open mind on the motive, he added that there had never been a report of anything similar happening before at the house in Grange.

The spokesman said the graffiti was daubed on the wall between 10pm and 11.30pm last Tuesday and he appealed for anybody with information to contact Fermoy Garda Station at (025) 82100.