'Words wound': Immigrant Council of Ireland condemns racist abuse towards Ian Wright

The Immigrant Council of Ireland is condemning racist abuse towards former England footballer Ian Wright.
'Words wound': Immigrant Council of Ireland condemns racist abuse towards Ian Wright

The Immigrant Council of Ireland is condemning racist abuse towards former England footballer Ian Wright.

The ex-Arsenal striker said he had been subjected to racist messages on social media.

The former Arsenal and England striker posted a number of Instagram messages he had been sent from a male youth from Tralee.

Mr Wright shared screen grabs of the messages on Twitter which he said had greatly upset him.

"I know I'm not meant to look at them but these messages still hit me so hard man. This is a child!!!

"This kid [h]as a direct line into me & is able to send this without any worry," he said.

The string of messages included a number of racial slurs.

Gardaí say a young man has since presented to a Garda Station and has been interviewed.

Pippa Woolnough, from the ICI, says the language used was unacceptable.

"The point here is that words wound and words matter," said Ms Woolnough.

"The language used is very concerning and the fact that it's used online, people might think that there are no consequences.

"It underlines the need for us to be educating our young people better around why diversity is important and why racist language is not acceptable in our society."

Gardaí confirmed last night that a male adult teenager had presented at a Garda station and been interviewed in relation to the incident.

Investigations are ongoing and a file is being prepared for the Director Public Prosecutions.

"An Garda Síochána is investigating an incident where abusive / racist comments have been re-posted on social media platforms. No formal complaint has been received by An Garda Síochána at this time, but in line with An Garda Síochána Diversity and Integration Strategy An Garda Síochána commenced an investigation into the comments."

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