The Republic of Ireland international has defended a post he put up on social media which saw him fined two weeks’ wages by Stoke City in March <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Stoke City winger James McClean has insisted that the photo he put up on Instagram which showed him teaching his children in a balaclava was “supposed to be a light-hearted joke”.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
On Thursday, March 26, McClean posted an image of himself in a\u00a0ski-mask sitting on a box in front of his two children, with the caption: ‘Today’s school lesson – History’.<\/p>\n
The 30-year-old was widely criticised for the social media stunt, which was interpreted\u00a0as an ill-advised reference to the Irish\u00a0Republican Army.<\/p>\n \n More teams<\/p>\n <\/i><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n The Republic of Ireland international released an official statement apologising for the post, and also deleted his Instagram account after being fined two week’s wages by Stoke.<\/p>\n \u201cI never wanted to cause any offence but I now realise I did so and for that, I apologise unreservedly,\u201d said McClean. \u201cI have spoken to the club and will be deleting my Instagram account.\u201d<\/p>\n The former West Brom and Sunderland ace has addressed the incident again during an interview with Sky Sports, expressing his belief that the public’s reaction was over the top.<\/p>\n McClean said: “If I sat here and said I don’t regret things I’d be lying but I can take a lot of abuse and can’t have fun back?<\/p>\n “It was supposed to be a light-hearted joke but I can understand why it didn’t go down well. People think I did a history lesson like that but I didn’t actually do it.”<\/p>\n The 2019-20\u00a0season is currently on hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic, with all players and staff from clubs across England currently self-isolating in accordance with new\u00a0Government legislation.<\/p>\n Health Secretary Matt Hancock called on Premier League stars to\u00a0“play their part” in the fight against Covid-19 by taking a pay cut during a daily update on the crisis which was televised on Friday.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Ex-Manchester United star Gary Neville and Crystal Palace winger\u00a0Andros Townsend have since voiced their outrage over Hancock’s ‘cheeky’ comments, and McClean shares the same opinion as his colleagues.\u00a0<\/p>\n “It’s ridiculous,” he added. “You’ve got Matt Hancock saying we should take a pay cut. No one seems to like footballers. We’ve got livelihoods too and people might take this the wrong way but we do work hard for our money.<\/p>\n