Bernard O’Byrne has issued an apology for a comment made on Facebook following a controversial penalty decision involving Raheem Sterling on Wednesday night.
Basketball Ireland CEO Bernard O’Byrne has apologised for a now-deleted social media post made in the wake of England’s victory over Denmark in the Euro 2020 semi-final on Wednesday night.
Under a BBC News post on Facebook titled ‘Should it have been a penalty for England against Denmark?’, O’Byrne, who is also a former CEO of the FAI, commented ‘BLACK DIVES MATTER’, a comment which has since been deleted.
The president of @BballIrl ladies and gentlemen…. I hope this is dealt with accordingly. pic.twitter.com/IqFGtMLLlC
— Erica-Cody (@EricaCody) July 8, 2021
Image via Twitter/Erica Cody
On Thursday night, Basketball Ireland issued a statement of apology from O’Byrne, who described it as an “error of judgement”.
“Basketball Ireland CEO Bernard O’Byrne has deleted a recent social media post, which made reference to an incident at Euro 2020. The comment was made from his personal account,” the statement read.
“Mr O’Byrne said: ‘My choice of words commenting on a penalty incident were not thought out. It was an error of judgement and I wholeheartedly apologise for the comments.’
“Basketball Ireland would like to stress its ongoing commitment to inclusion and basketball’s diverse community, which has been led by Mr O’Byrne in recent years.”
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