Drogheda United issue statement after Conor McGregor posts trophy photo

The MMA fighter's cousin was an unused sub in the club's FAI Cup final win last November.

McGregor, who was found liable for assault by an Irish jury last November, posted a photo on his Instagram yesterday which showed the 36-year-old smiling alongside the FAI Cup and holding one of his UFC belts.

The Roadhouse star accompanied the image with the caption: "How much is it to buy a league of Ireland team? I might buy two." He has since edited the caption and removed any reference to purchasing a League of Ireland club.

According to BBC Sport, the former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion was celebrating alongside his cousin and Drogheda United player, Warren Davis - who was an unused substitute in their 2-0 win over Derry City two months ago.

Following on from McGregor's post, the League of Ireland Premier Division club released a statement on their website denying any association with the disgraced MMA fighter.

"A social media post has been brought to our attention today regarding the FAI Cup," they wrote.

"Those pictured are a close relation to one of our first team players, who like all the other players had custody of the cup to celebrate with their families at different intervals.

"Drogheda United do not associate ourselves with the individual who made the social media post in any way, or with any unauthorised brands mentioned."

Club Statement

🔗 https://t.co/SWP89GNJmu pic.twitter.com/IsmXPS9lBl

— Drogheda United F.C. (@DroghedaUnited) January 7, 2025

According to the Irish Mirror, McGregor initially congratulated Dundalk rather than Drogheda for winning the trophy before editing his Instagram post.

He also wrongly claimed another of his cousins, Keith Buckley, won the Cup with Bohs, but he was part of the side that lost the 2021 final on penalties to St Pat's and missed last year's through injury, which they also lost to their Dublin rivals.

The Crumlin native lost over 100,000 Instagram followers in the days after Nikita Hand won her civil assault claim against him.

Weeks later, Tesco announced that they would no longer be selling Conor McGregor’s Proper 12 whiskey, while Ocado - a distributor who supplies M&S - also removed Proper 12 from their list of products.

McGregor denies any wrongdoing, and is set to appeal the verdict in the coming months.