Irish soccer star quotes Bobby Sands after beer thrown at him during Birmingham City match

James McClean invoked Irish hunger striker Bobby Sands after a beer was thrown at him during the Wrexham - Birmingham City soccer match at St. Andrew's Stadium in England last night, Monday, September 16.

Derry native McClean, who has previously spoken about the "sectarian abuse" he has received throughout his career, appeared to respond to jeering spectators on Monday night by slapping his "Free Derry" tattoo on his thigh as he exited the pitch after being subbed out following a yellow card.

As he exited the field, a person in the stands launched a beer at him, which McClean caught, pretended to sip from, and tossed on the ground.

On Tuesday, McClean, who retired from the Irish national team last year after signing with Wrexham FC, shared a photo of the incident alongside a Bobby Sands quote to his Instagram stories.

"They have nothing in their whole imperial arsenal that can break the spirit of an Irishman who doesn't want to be broken," McClean captioned his story, quoting Sands.

McClean added: "P.S. fair play to the one old steward that held them all back from getting over the 2ft advertising hoardings."

James McClean quotes Bobby Sands on Instagram.

McClean previously used the Sands quote in November 2018 after he was met with criticism for not wearing a poppy, which is meant to honor British military personnel who have died in war. The then-Stoke City FC winger, who had also refused to wear the poppy on previous occasions, had issued a statement ahead of the incident explaining his reasons. 

In a subsequent Instagram story on Tuesday, McClean tore into the spectator who launched a drink at him.

"In fairness to this smelly fat gammon, he probs didn't have the energy or mobility to step over the hoarding," McClean wrote over a picture of him about to catch the beer that was thrown at him.

James McClean tore into the jeering spectator.

Footage of the incident spread on social media afterward, with Irish outlet Balls.ie sharing this clip:

Wrexham FC said in its match report that tensions "spilled over" in the final moments of the game that ultimately saw Wrexham lose 3 -1 to Birmingham City.

The "tensions" played out in front of some major A-listers, including Wrexham co-owner Rob McElhenney and former NFL star Tom Brady, who is a minority owner of Birmingham City FC. British former soccer star David Beckham was also in attendance.