Tabloids urged to ‘lay off’ McGrath

FORMER teammates and friends have called on tabloid newspapers to stop harassing ex-footballer Paul McGrath.

The former Republic of Ireland international striker John Aldridge said: “Paul’s a good friend of mine and I’m really sad to hear what’s happened to him. I think people should lay off his back and leave him alone.”

Frank Mullen, McGrath’s agent and friend, also called for an end to intrusive stories on RTÉ radio yesterday.

McGrath has been a constant presence on tabloid front pages since he appeared in an English court on Tuesday on charges of breaching the peace.

The former Republic midfielder had been arrested the night before by police and spent the night in a prison cell.

He gave his address as “no fixed abode”, leading the Irish Sun to label him “a homeless alcoholic”.

The Murdoch-owned newspaper recently had to withdraw a headline about the boxer Frank Bruno, titled “Bonkers Bruno locked up”, after a storm of protest from its readers.

However, McGrath’s biographer, Cathal Dervan, said the stories might help him acknowledge and deal with his problems.

“People need to point out to Paul how bad things are for him at the moment and he needs to see that himself. I’m saying that purely to be cruel to be kind to him,” he said.