This Premier League star called people ‘gayboy’ and ‘faggot boy’
(Dan Istitene/Getty)
Premier League footballer Shane Duffy has sparked outrage with a series of tweets containing anti-gay slurs.
The Brighton and Hove Albion player also attacked TV presenter Rylan Clark-Neal, calling him a “thing” during his stint on X Factor.
Duffy, a Republic of Ireland international, who has represented his country 18 times, posted the tweets in 2011 and 2012, when he was 19 and 20.
(PAUL FAITH/AFP/Getty)
He was playing for another Premier League side, Everton, at the time.
In one of the tweets, Duffy encouraged the user of a now-suspended account to attack fellow footballer James Gray, writing: “give James a dead arm for me the faggot. Still thinks he’s Ronaldo haha!”
(shaneduffy/twitter)
He told another football player, Jeff Thomas: “don’t be late faggot boy.”
(shaneduffy/twitter)
Writing to a now-defunct account, the footballer said: “gayboy come the town and mee us up me and baxter!!”
(shaneduffy/twitter)
And speaking to Rotherham United winger Jon Taylor, he wrote: “tell him hes a puff and go get his eyebrows waxed the girl.. Yeah man defo.”
(shaneduffy/twitter)
On the same day, he asked Taylor: “gayboy u out tonite?”
(shaneduffy/twitter)
In 2012, during the ninth season of X Factor, he engaged in a series of attacks against Rylan Clark-Neal, an openly gay singer who finished fifth on the show.
Duffy wrote: “Seriously rylan get off my screen!!!! I actually hate this man/whatever he is.”
(shaneduffy/twitter)
He followed this up by calling the TV personality a “thing.”
He wrote: “X factor is a shambles! How that thing rylan wernt in the bottom 2 I have no idea. Why do u people vote for him.”
Duffy continued with the torrent of abuse, saying: “Can’t take this rylan serious. Jesusssss!! Is this real?”
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He added: “Rylan u aboustle waste of talent! I hate you more than life. How ur on tv is a joke! I actually hate you!!”
In a statement, Brighton and Hove Albion Football Club said that they had “drawn a line” under the issue.
The club told PinkNews: “The club’s stance on homophobia is well known, and we have a zero-tolerance approach.
“Shane made the posts when he was still a teenager. He has since previously apologised for any offence he may have unwittingly caused.
“As far as the club is concerned that draws a line under this issue from six or seven years ago.”
Duffy is far from the first person to be undone by historical tweets over the past year – in fact, he’s not even the first Premier League footballer.
Mason Holgate sparked uproar and a Football Association investigation after it was found in January that the Everton full-back had used the words “fag,” “faggotttttttttt,” “a batty” and “battyboy” to refer to other Twitter users.
(Getty and Twitter)
In November, pop star Ed Sheeran prompted a backlash after repeatedly tweeting that things and people were “no homo” or “so homo.”
Grime artist Stormzy apologised after a flood of tweets in which he repeatedly called people “a f***ing fag,” “faggot” and “gay” were discovered by PinkNews.
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The BRIT Award winner called his past comments “foul and offensive,” and spoke directly to the LGBT+ community when he offered his “deepest apologies.”
