Duffy denies sending pro-IRA tweet

Republic of Ireland U21 international Shane Duffy has denied responsibility for a pro-IRA message that appeared on his Twitter account in the early hours of Monday morning.

The Everton centre-back claimed his phone was taken by someone who retweeted the message without his knowledge.

After receiving a barrage of online criticism for the tweet, Duffy took to the social media site to apologise to his 49,000 followers for any offence caused by the “UP THE RA!” comment.