James McClean has accused English football authorities of turning a blind eye to what he says is "eight years of sickening abuse" over his nationality.
The Republic of Ireland international claimed that he was the target of sectarian abuse during Wigan Athletic's 2-1 defeat away to Sunderland on Sunday and he called on the English football authorities to take action.
Footage shared on social media appears to show Sunderland supporters targeting McClean with sectarian chants, but McClean is not hopeful that either the FA or Sunderland will address the issues.
The FA has responded to state that any discrimination, once reported through correct channels, will be addressed with the clubs and relevant authorities "to ensure appropriate action is taken".
Writing on Instagram, the Derryman shared some footage of the Sunderland chants which were filmed by a local journalist and said that he recieved anti-Irish abuse throughout the game.
In his post, McClean wrote: "For my son, who is seven years old and watches every Wigan game - either being at stadium or on Latics TV - to be asking his mother, 'why are they booing and singing that song at Daddy?' And to have to tip toe around answering him is something which should not be happening.
"This post is not one for sympathy [trust me, it is not wanted] but one of anger. Considering every single year we have an FA representative come into each club to discuss the same old crap they spew to us about discrimination. Every single year, I challenge them on the abuse. Every single year, they do nothing.
"This clip is one [from] yesterday, which can be heard clearly of one particular chant, as well as other chants of 'f**k the pope and IRA’, being sung by the majority of the 30k crowd, as well as numerous individual chants of 'fenian bastard, fenian c**t', 'you dirty Irish c**t'.
"[This was] while displaying a tribute before game honouring Niall Quinn, who is also the same nationality as myself. Couldn’t make the stupidity up.
"Now, everyone who attended the game would have heard this loud and clear including the referee, match officials and other officials! I should not have to report every single incident when clearly they can all hear what I hear, and they should be doing their job by taking action!
"I would be lying if I was to say I expect anything to be done about this by the FA and EFL [history shows this] but here is ANOTHER CHANCE, sure. And I certainly don’t expect any action to be taken by Sunderland themselves, given they did nothing when I was their player."
The FA has insisted once discriminatory language or behaviour is reported through the relevant channels, they will work closely with the clubs and relevant authorities to ensure appropriate action is taken.
"We strongly condemn all forms of discriminatory and offensive chanting," a statement from the FA read.
"Any participants or fans who believe that they have been the subject of, or witness to, discrimination are encouraged to report it through the correct channels: The FA, the relevant club via our Partners at Kick It Out. The FA looks into any alleged discriminatory language or behaviour that is reported to us, and we work closely with the clubs and relevant authorities to ensure appropriate action is taken."
Sunderland say they have a "zero-tolerance" policy against all forms of discrimination following the footage at the weekend appearing to show supporters targeting McClean with sectarian chants
"The club is committed to providing an inclusive, family-friendly environment at the Stadium of Light and strongly condemns any supporter found to be engaging in any form of discriminatory behaviour," a statement on the club's official website read.
"Whilst the majority of fans behave impeccably when supporting SAFC, there have been multiple incidents during the 2022-23 season that are unacceptable and have resulted in ejection, stadium bans and criminal investigations.
"Everyone attending, working or taking part in a football match at the Stadium of Light has the right to feel safe, valued and included and the club encourages all supporters to continue to play their part."
