Statement by TUV spokeswoman Lorna Smyth:
“I welcome the fact that UEFA has fined the FAI €20,000 after its woman’s football team was filmed singing an IRA chant. The singing of this chat has been roundly condemned by victims of Republican terrorism but there have been other voices which, tellingly, have remained silent or even defended the practice. The action by UEFA should act as a wake up call to nationalism that supporting terrorism isn’t a good look and the rest of the world recognises that it is unacceptable, even if our self-styled “First Minister for all” does not.
“This should not be the end of the matter but a turning point. It is a chance for people who have engaged in this chanting to reflect on their actions and to stop insulting the victims of IRA terror. It is an opportunity for public bodies to reflect on their decision to award monies to events like the West Belfast Festival where such chanting occurs every year. Furthermore, it is an opportunity for the young women involved to reflect on the fact that they have yet to take up the offer to meet with IRA victims and do so in the very near future.”