James McClean backs MTK Global boycott of Irish media

Republic of Ireland midfielder James McClean has backed MTK Global's boycott of Irish media.

The boxing management company said that they would boycott the Irish media on Thursday afternoon in their campaign for #fairnews. The company released a written and video statement following reports of ties to Dublin gangland figure Daniel Kinahan, who co-founded the company alongside former boxer Matthew Macklin before removing himself from operations last year. A statement read:

"With immediate effect, MTK Global will be boycotting all media in the Republic of Ireland and pulling out of hosting any more boxing events there for the foreseeable future," CEO Sandra Vaughan said. "Today, legal letters will be issued on my behalf to a number of media houses related to inaccurate and untrue articles about Daniel Kinahan's relationship to MTK and will initiate legal proceedings against all defamatory coverage going forward."

MTK said that they will not sign any further Irish fighters, or host any events in Ireland, but would continue to manage the 29 Irish fighters on their books - including Michael Conlan, Jamie Conlan and Paddy Barnes. No MTK fighter has fought in Ireland since David Byrne was shot dead in the Regency Hotel in February, 2016, at the weigh in for the boxing event 'Clash of the Titans', an event in which MTK fighter Declan Geraghty was scheduled to fight. The company also manages Carl Frampton and Tyson Fury, both of whom tweeted their support of the campaign. https://twitter.com/RTEsport/status/942170951063691266 McClean, who was voted RTE's Irish Sportsperson of the Year less than two months ago, tweeted his support of the campaign and later moved to clarify his comments after receiving criticism. https://twitter.com/JamesMcC_14/status/961660696801951744 https://twitter.com/JamesMcC_14/status/961683377060569089