Two Cork City FC fans who shouted vile chants about the sick son of Shamrock Rovers manager Stephen Bradley have been identified and will soon be issued a "lifetime ban".
The incident happened after Cork's 1-0 win over Rovers last Friday night. Just as manager Stephen Bradley was walking back across the pitch after a post-match interview, Cork supporters started chanting at him from a pub outside the ground which overlooks the pitch.
The chants, which were aimed at the manager's nine-year-old son Josh who has undergone treatment for leukaemia, "crossed the line completely", Cork owner Dermot Usher told Claire Byrne today. The Kildare man said he got a call from his COO Eanna Buckley “pretty much as soon as it happened”.
The club reacted "very strongly" and the perpetuators were identified "within an hour of it happening" thanks to CCTV and GoPro footage provided by the owner of the pub. There were also a number of witness statements with people saying “this is not acceptable”.
Read more: Stephen Bradley slams 'disgusting' chants about sick son by Cork City fans
Mr Usher said: “I think chanting is normal and there's always a little bit of an edge at a game and it's probably part of the atmosphere at times. But then this was beyond the beyond. We're absolutely drawing the line on this event because we want to sit down and marker very, very, very strongly to say, we will not tolerate this as a football club.”
“We're looking to proactively encourage a family atmosphere at the game and we'll be doing all we can to communicate that to our fan base.” He thinks what happened will change what’s acceptable at League of Ireland matches.
Mr Usher actually met with Bradley yesterday. He told Claire: “I had asked Stephen three weeks ago to do me a favour and there was a football blitz on yesterday, which he attended to give out medals and prizes on a Sunday on his day off.
"He attended there with his family. I had a quick conversation with him, apologised to the club. It's very raw.
"I think as any parent, you can imagine your nine year old child going through what he's going through and the family, how raw that it is, and to have that being shouted you as abuse. it just completely crosses the line.”
He added: “There's almost a disconnect between what people are saying, whether it's being vocally at a match, or even on Twitter and stuff like that. What people think is acceptable. It's not acceptable and it won't be tolerated by Cork City Football Club or a family club.”
As far as Mr Usher is aware, Stephen was satisfied with the way the issue has been addressed. He explained many Cork City supporters have condemned the actions of their two fellow fans, and two separate groups have launched a fundraising appeal for Irish Cancer Society with the blessing of the Bradley family.
“I think a lot of the Cork City fans are absolutely, truly embarrassed,” he added.
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