Shamrock Rovers condemn hurtful and hateful comments directed at their u17 players

Shamrock Rovers condemn hurtful comments on stream of u17 women's final

Shamrock Rovers condemn hurtful comments on stream of u17 women's final Credit: Peter Fitzpatrick (ETPhotos)

Shamrock Rovers have condemned the abusive language that appeared in the comments section on a YouTube hosted stream of last week’s Women’s under-17 National League Final between the Hoops and Cork City.

The Rovers captain Jessie Stapleton had highlighted the issue on her twitter feed following the final – a match that Cork City won 2-0. Rovers called the comments on the live stream of the game as “hurtful and hateful”.  

The club statement noted:

We admire the dignity and solidarity that our Under 17 girls players have maintained this week. The club recognises the offense caused, and it offers its full support to the girls and their families.

We uphold the 20X20 vision that ‘if she can’t see it, she can’t be it.’ We are committed to establishing a safe and effective method for streaming or broadcasting our girls and women’s football. They deserve to be seen. 

Rovers also condemned racist comments that occurred during the boys under-17 final last Monday in Belfield.

Racist language, such as was levelled during the Boys’ U17 final earlier in the week, and sexist language such as what appeared during the Girls’ final, will not be tolerated by our Club.

There is no place for these mentalities in football or in society. Shamrock Rovers F.C. will do everything in its power to adopt positive measures to protect and promote its players. 

The club has expressed its concern to the FAI, which has issued a public statement on the matter.  

The FAI noted that:



The FAI is aware of comments made by members of the public during the live streaming of the Women’s Under 17 League final on Wednesday afternoon, broadcast with the assistance of an outside agency.

Such comment is not acceptable in any circumstance. These comments have now been removed and the FAI will closely monitor the comment function on all future live streams.

    About Macdara Ferris

    Macdara Ferris is a contributor since 2007 to Hoops Scene (Shamrock Rovers' match day programme) and is the co-author of two books on Shamrock Rovers - 'Tallaght Time: Shamrock Rovers 2009 to 2012' (with Karl … View Full Profile