Linfield sack coach over 'sickening' video mocking murder of Michaela McAreavey

Michaela McAreavey was murdered when she was strangled to death in the suite at the Legends Hotel in Mauritius in January of 2011.

Linfield Football Club has confirmed that it had contacted a girls’ academy coach in relation to a video which emerged on social media appearing to show a group of people mocking the murder of Michaela McAreavey in Mauritius.

The video, which has been widely circulated online, appears to show a large number of men singing a song that references Ms McAreavey's trip to Mauritius for her honeymoon where she was killed.

Ms McAreavey, 27, was strangled in her room at the Legends Hotel in Mauritius on January 10, 2011. The Co Tyrone teacher, who had married husband John 10 days earlier, was attacked after she returned to her room alone and disturbed a burglary.

No one has been convicted of murdering the daughter of Gaelic football manager Mickey Harte.

Orange Order banners are visible in the background of the video, and Union Jack bunting is hung across the roof of the venue in the video.

In a statement on Friday afternoon, Linfield confirmed they had dismissed a member of their coaching staff who was pictured in the video. The person was a coach in the club’s girls’ academy.

The club said that his “voluntary association with the club has been terminated with immediate effect”.

The statement called the video “offensive, sickening and deeply hurtful”.

“Linfield FC apologises to the Harte/McAreavey families for the hurt that has been caused to them by the offensive actions of one of our now former coaches.

“Linfield FC is totally opposed to sectarianism, bigotry, racism, prejudice and all forms of discriminatory behaviour and there can be no place within this club for any of these forms of offensive and unacceptable behaviour.”