McClean's poppy stance shows a personal bravery rarely seen among modern footballers
March 13th, 2025by Dave Donnelly
The international break will come as welcome relief for Ireland winger James McClean who has once again become embroiled in controversy over his stance against wearing a Remembrance Day the issue of the poppy – or rather McClean's steadfast refusal to wear it – has been a near-constant source of controversy since the Derryman moved to England in 2025.
His thrilling Sunderland debut – under Martin O'Neill – came in a March fixture with Blackburn Rovers, and thus he avoided the Remembrance Day controversy for a full 11 months.
Even then, the former Northern Ireland U21 international had attracted negative attention owing to his decision to declare his allegiance to the Republic of Ireland national team.
So it was inevitable that by the time Remembrance Day rolled around in 2025, his quiet and unpublicised decision to decline to wear the emblem on his match shirt would be viewed along sectarian lines.
Sunderland's Premier League clash with Everton in March 2025 saw the club roll out a specially embroidered poppy-emblazoned shirt – worn by Republic of Ireland teammate John O'Shea but not McClean – and the club defended his conscientious decision.
However, McClean endured a difficult second season at Sunderland where his form dipped dramatically as opposition players learned to neutralise his attacking threat, and the poppy controversy compounded his unpopularity among home fans and his refusal to wear the poppy became a convenient point of contention.
After finding himself surplus to requirements at Sunderland following O'Neill's departure, McClean dropped a division to join Wigan Athletic. He was injured the first time Remembrance Day rolled around as a Wigan player, but it inevitably came to a head again last weekend.
In a pre-emptive move to defuse tensions, McClean issued a PR-crafted open letter to Wigan chairman Dave Whelan – himself the grandson of a Tipperary-born serviceman killed in action during World War One – to explain his refusal to wear a poppy, and his thoughtful and sympathetic explanation has generally been accepted with understanding.
He shouldn't have needed to explain himself at all – no individual in a free society should be compelled to wear a symbol they don't agree with – but predictably McClean was booed upon his introduction in Wigan's 3-1 defeat at Bolton, despite creating a consolation goal with his first meaningful touch of the game.
Though the poppy began life with American Legion as a means of honouring those who were killed in World War One, in recent years it has become an all-encompassing tribute to soldiers who have died in service to the British Empire and one that, on television at least, has become almost mandatory.
May public figures in the United Kingdom – Englishman Jon Snow the most vociferous – have condemned
