St Patrick's Athletic condemn racist abuse aimed at two of their players

St Patrick's Athletic have condemned racial abuse aimed at two of the club's players in the wake of their UEFA Europa Conference League defeat to CSKA Sofia on Thursday.

Tim Clancy's side lost 2-0 to the Bulgarian team at Tallaght Stadium in the second leg, exiting the competition at the third qualifying round stage by a 2-1 aggregate margin.

In the aftermath, St Pat's said that they had been made aware that one player was racially abused during the game, while another had messages of a racist nature sent to his personal social media account.

The Inchicore-based club has reported the incidents to UEFA, the FAI and Sport Against Racism Ireland.

"We are appalled and disgusted by the vile racist messages and language that has been directed at our players," said St Pat's chairman Garrett Kelleher.

"St Patrick's Athletic is a multi-cultural, inclusive and welcoming club to all individuals, with a zero tolerance policy to racism and abuse of any kind.

"The club has offered it’s full support to both players, and we look forward to seeing them back on the pitch at Richmond Park on Sunday."