James McClean blasts 'thousands of idiots' as FA grant exemption amid poppy stance
James McClean has long received criticism for deciding not to wear a poppy on his shirt and the Irish international has now revealed his thoughts on drastic action taken by the FA
by Daniel Orme · The MirrorJames McClean claims “common sense has prevailed” after being handed an FA exemption for his poppy stance.
The Wrexham star has regularly received criticism throughout his career for not wearing a poppy. He has responded by explaining why he adopts that stance.
Meanwhile, the FA have taken drastic action to ensure that McClean manages to avoid abuse from rival fans. He has been made exempt from a rule that forces players to depart the pitch and the nearest possible point.
A letter from the FA read: "You will be aware that James McClean is often on the receiving end of abuse from some sections of support. This has, in the past, resulted in FA sanctions against the Club due to the chanting becoming racially, or religiously motivated and therefore, classed as a hate crime.
"Missiles have also been thrown. It has now been agreed that on occasions in the future when Mr McClean has to leave the field of play, for whatever reason, he will leave by the shortest route towards the tunnel. This process will help to reduce these incidents and also help to manage Mr McClean's departure from the pitch without incident."
And McClean has now opened up on the decision and revealed he had no say in his exemption. Speaking with talkSPORT, the 35-year-old said: “It's not something I've asked for.
“So it was quite a shock to see it, to be honest. But it's definitely welcome because it's not just for me, but for anybody that’s… I find that a very stupid rule anyway, that you have to leave the pitch at the nearest exit
“You’re putting yourself in a situation where players have to walk around the outside the pitch, and especially, players playing away, you know… football fans you can get idiots and it's very hard to control thousands of idiots if you’re a steward or police if people want to shout abuse, because not everybody can be controlled and it just takes away the element of anything stupid happening really. Common sense has prevailed, let’s say.”
What are your thoughts on the FA's decision? Share your thoughts in the comments below
And while McClean had little to do with the change in rules, he has claimed Wrexham boss Phil Parkinson was crucial. McClean added: “No, I didn't know about it. A couple of weeks ago, the manager called me after the Birmingham incident and said that they were looking into doing something.
“As the weeks gone by, didn't hear anything, didn’t really pay attention to be honest and then obviously yesterday, when it broke I saw it like everyone else.
“And like I said, it's welcome and that's credit to the manager and the club because they've seen what happened at Birmingham and they took action. So like I said, it's not something I asked for, but it's something that I welcome.”
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