Shelbourne report incident of homophobic abuse to Gardaí

ALLEGATIONS: The homophobic and misogynistic abuse allegedly occurred in Tolka Park on August 6. Pic: INPHO/Tom Maher

Shelbourne have apologised to a Peamount player who allegedly suffered homophobic and misogynistic abuse during their Women's FAI Cup quarter-final at Tolka Park on August 6.

Shelbourne say they have contacted An Garda Síochána and are attempting to identify an individual in the crowd from CCTV footage and if successful will issue them with a lifetime ban.

Shelbourne also said they have since increased security at their ground.

Club Statement

▶️ https://t.co/WOmhiXfukt pic.twitter.com/PkmrAewcld

— Shelbourne FC (@shelsfc) August 29, 2022

In a statement released on Monday night they said: "At our recent home match against Peamount United, an individual was heard to have directed misogynistic abuse at an opposition player, including the use of a homophobic term.

"The incident was reported and having been made aware of this incident, we immediately contacted Peamount United to offer our apologies to the player.

"We have since added an additional security presence, specifically briefed to identify anyone engaging in discriminatory abuse and with instructions that anyone doing so should be ejected from the ground.

"We have reported the incident to An Garda Síochána and have been endeavouring to identify the individual from CCTV footage.

"The club will not tolerate any discriminatory verbal abuse in Tolka Park and any individual that we can identify will receive a lifetime ban from the ground. There is no place for this kind of abuse in football – on or off the pitch and we wish to apologise again to the player.

"Shelbourne FC is an inclusive club and we know that our supporters share our desire to ensure that everybody can enjoy the game without being subject to discriminatory abuse of any kind."

Peamount welcomed the action taken by Shelboourne in a message of their own posted on social media on Tuesday morning.

Shelbourne club statement regarding discriminatory abuse directed at our player. There is absolutely no place for this abuse as we look to ensure that football is an inclusive game for everyone and we welcome a full investigation into this incident. https://t.co/qPaCCsgjEd

— Peamount Utd FC (@peamountutdfc) August 30, 2022

"There is absolutely no place for this abuse as we look to ensure that football is an inclusive game for everyone and we welcome a full investigation into this incident."