Ireland allrounder John Mooney faces the prospect of disciplinary action following a tweet made in response to Margaret Thatcher’s death.
After news of Baroness Thatcher’s death broke on Monday, a tweet appearing from Mooney’s account, said: ‘I hope it was slow and painful.’ It was removed within a few hours of appearing.
In a statement, Cricket Ireland reacted to the comments, saying: ‘Cricket Ireland would like to distance itself from the comments made by John Mooney earlier today on the social network, Twitter, following the announcement of the death of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
‘Cricket Ireland have asked the player to remove the comments which have caused offence, and will consider appropriate disciplinary action in due course.’
Mooney currently holds a central contract with Cricket Ireland, which he was first awarded in 2010. Since making his ODI debut against England in 2006, he has become an important part of Ireland’s side. Most notably, his unbeaten 33, following on from four wickets, sealed victory over England in the 2011 World Cup. In February, Mooney returned from injury to appear in both Ireland’s World Cricket League victories over the UAE.
Following the tweet on Thatcher’s death, a series of other tweets appeared from Mooney’s
account. One, referring to the Sinn Fein politician, Gerry Adams, said
‘maybe he will get the recognition he deserves down the line, like Mandela and other men’. Responding to the news of Thatcher’s death, Adams had described her policy towards Ireland as ‘a total and absolute failure’.
When contacted by ESPNcricinfo, Mooney was unavailable for comment.
-With New Age input
