Varadkar urges media and sporting bodies to have “nothing to do with” Fury/Joshua fight

Two fights are in the pipeline for 2021.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said it would be "entirely appropriate" for sports organisations and media organisations to "have nothing to do with" a potential fight between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua if Daniel Kinahan is involved. Tyson Fury thanked Kinahan for "getting (the) deal over the line" for two potential fights in 2021 in an Instagram post on Wednesday. Kinahan, who is currently living in the Middle East, was identified in the High Court in Dublin in 2018 as a senior figure in organised crime on a global scale. Speaking at a press conference at Dublin Castle today, Varadkar reiterated that contact had been made between Ireland and the United Arab Emirates, but he could not go into specifics;

"I can’t really go into the detail on that kind of contact, but there has been contact in the past between our own justice authorities and the United Arab Emirates on this and there is contact with the Department of Foreign Affairs as well. But certainly the UAE know the situation and they know our concerns and our problems with it.

When asked if broadcasters such as Sky Sports and BT Sports should avoid any fight with Kinahan's involvement, Varadkar said that would be correct given the circumstances;

"I think, it’s not a decision for me, but I think it would be entirely appropriate for sports organisations and media organisations to have nothing to do with this.

"Maybe they don’t know the facts or they (don’t) know the truth, but they need to know them, and I wouldn’t like to see them giving it any attention at all, given the circumstances."

Varadkar admitted that he and his government are limited in what they could do to prevent the fight from going ahead;

"We’re the government of Ireland, I don’t think we have any legal authority to do things in other jurisdictions, but we can of course raise our concerns with the authorities in other countries, we have done that."