Richard Dunne Recalls Being Called A ‘Potato’ And Other Vile Insults By English Fans During His Career

Former Ireland defender Richard Dunne has today outlined vile abuse he received throughout his career playing in England.

Writing for his weekly column in The Herald, Dunne addressed the allegations that Manchester City's Raheem Sterling was racially abused by Chelsea fans last weekend by saying "When I played at Chelsea, I was called an “Irish c***”."

Dunne added that while it was perhaps unfair to pick out one club, "Chelsea was where I heard it the most, there was even something so stupid as me going to take a throw-in and someone shouting ‘potato’ at me."

Dunne represented four clubs, including Man City, throughout a 19-year career in England and pointed out that 'There is a difference between abusing someone over the colour of their skin and their nationality but it’s still abuse, it happens in football.'

He also added that "People didn’t take it seriously when I was called an Irish c*** but whoever said that had a problem with the country I came from, and that is racism. Irish players still get it a lot, James McClean gets it a lot of the time and football can’t ignore that it’s there."