“Does it highlight the need for education on issues like this?”
Sky Sports presenter Rob Wotton grilled Republic of Ireland international Chloe Mustaki after the team were filmed singing a song which contained pro-IRA lyrics.
Ireland qualified for their first World Cup finals on Tuesday night with a 1-0 victory over Scotland. Amber Barrett scored the only goal of the game at Hampden Park.
Following the match, the Irish players celebrated their incredible achievement in the dressing room and were filmed singing several songs.
One of the songs being sung by some of the players was Celtic Symphony by the Wolfe Tones, which contains pro-IRA lyrics. The FAI and Ireland manager Vera Pauw apologised for the incident on Wednesday morning.
On Sky Sports, however, presenter Rob Wotton posed several questions to Ireland and Bristol City player Chole Mustaki about some team members singing the song.
Wotton asked her if she wanted to apologise. When Mustaki apologised, the Sky Sports presenter asked her if she and her teammates were embarrassed by the incident.
He also asked Mustaki if she felt that she and her teammates needed ‘education’ on ‘issues like this’.
You can read the transcript of the interview below.
Rob Wotton: “Before we talk about the win, we need to ask you about the statement that’s just come out from the FAI in which they’ve apologised for the players singing a song that references the IRA… Would you like to apologise?
Chole Mustaki: “Yeah, absolutely, look, we’re all really sorry here in Dublin. It was obviously a massive lapse in judgement on our end, you know, lots going on when the final whistle went and we absolutely didn’t mean to cause any hurt on our end so we do really apologise for that, absolutely.”
Rob Wotton: “How embarrassed are the players by this video?”
Chole Mustaki: “Yeah, quite embarrassed, there’s obviously a lot going on in the changing rooms in such a major moment, lots of different songs being put on left, right and centre. So, look, we are incredibly embarrassed in this moment in time, didn’t mean any hurt on our end so we do really apologise for that.
Rob Wotton: “I guess, it raised the question, does it highlight the need for education on issues like this? Is that something you’d be for?”
Chole Mustaki: “I don’t really think so. I think we need to learn in these moments to be better and to do better. You know, we’ve all been brought up knowing a lot about Irish history. So, we just need to be better in moments like this, and we recognise that absolutely on our end.”
You can watch the video of the interview below.
The Ireland women's team apologise for singing a song referencing the IRA following their world cup qualification win against Scotland last night. pic.twitter.com/83flVC8ywp
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) October 12, 2022
Related links.
- Amber Barrett reveals incredible, personal Creeslough connection after World Cup heroics.
- FAI apologise for controversial song in Ireland team’s dressing room after World Cup qualification.
- Vera Pauw breaks down in tears in emotional RTÉ interview after Ireland qualify for World Cup
