This is horrific behaviour by some of the Irish fans.
25-year-old Cyrus Christie was on the pitch for Ireland's 5-1 defeat to Denmark, and unfortunately scored an own goal during the game.
In the hours and days that followed the game, it was noted that there was some incredibly racist remarks aimed towards Christie.
These were reported by the FAI to the Gardai, and soon afterwards the PFAI and anti-racism charity Show Racism the Red Card
issued a joint statement:
"We fully support all efforts to stamp out racism from the game and that includes comments targeting players on social media. The nature of this incident is really shocking and no player should be subjected to that and we hope that the perpetrator is called to account. This incident should serve as a message to all involved in the game from grassroots upwards that racism needs a response from authorities and team-mates. It cannot be ignored."
Tonight, Christie took to Twitter with an open letter regarding the racism:
Firstly I'd like to say I am extremely proud to represent my Country the Republic Of Ireland and I give everything I can each time I put on the green shirt. I genuinely believe that our fans are some of the best in the world.
however, there have been a number of racist comments which have been brought to my attention during the World Cup qualifying campaign over the last couple of months and most recently last week. These comments are not representative of our fans or our sport. We were all deeply upset to not reach the World Cup finals and are hurting just as much as everyone else.
it is deeply saddening that racism is still part of the game we all enjoy and love. I strongly believe we need to stand up against these individuals who do not belong in football or any other sport.
