Wrexham star James McClean punches Cardiff fan in car park
Wrexham footballer James McClean admitted he punched a Cardiff City fan in self-defence after an argument with him before the match.
McClean, who plays as a winger for the club, said a group of opposition fans “started shouting” at him as he got out of his car in the players’ car park.
Wrexham AFC said the incident occurred before the two clubs faced each other in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup at The Racecourse on October 28.
McClean told Talksport: “I’m in my workplace and I feel like I should never feel threatened in that workplace… I didn’t expect him to make the first move. So I did.”
He said: “Somehow there were four male Cardiff fans, all in their late 20s and early 30s.
“They recognized me [and] They immediately started opening their mouths to me. I ignored the first remark.
“The second time I responded and confronted them about it.
“Words were exchanged. One of them, a tall, bespectacled man, made a hostile gesture toward me.”
McClean added: “People need to understand that just because we play football doesn’t mean they can exercise their freedom without consequences for their actions.
“That’s it. Nothing else happened. And the situation was handled.”
The match kicked off at 20:00 GMT and Cardiff City won 2–1 to book a place in the quarter-finals at home against Chelsea on 16 December.
Wrexham said the incident had been “reported to the relevant authorities” and declined to comment further.
Cardiff City FC said it had not received a formal complaint from “any fans”, adding that it had not been approached by Wrexham or North Wales Police.
North Wales Police said it had not received any reports of the incident.
The Northern Ireland-born player was subjected to verbal abuse from Lincoln City fans earlier this year. He was targeting anti-Catholic chants to him during a game on May 3.
The club was fined £8,500 by the Football Association for failing to control fans.
McClean, 36, grew up in Derry and has previously said he learned to make gas bombs. when I was 11 years old because of the riots.
She refused to wear a poppy because of Bloody Sunday; In 1972, 13 people were shot dead and at least 15 others were injured when members of the Army’s Parachute Regiment opened fire on civil rights demonstrators in Derry.
He made 103 appearances for the Republic of Ireland and scored 11 goals for the national team between 2012 and 2023.
