A number of retailers in the north including major store chains and a popular independent off-licence have confirmed they are pulling the sale of alcoholic drinks associated with Dublin mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor.
The move follows a successful civil claim for damages against the UFC star by a woman who said he raped her six years ago in a Dublin hotel.
Nikita Hand, who accused the sportsman of raping her in December 2018, won her claim in a case at the High Court in Dublin.
Tesco and Musgrave - which owns a network of outlets - have conformed in statements they will no longer sell alcoholic products linked to Mr McGregor.
The products are Forged Irish Stout, which is owned by the fighter, and Proper Twelve Irish Whiskey, which Mr McGregor previously owned, but which was sold in 2021 to Proximo Spirits, reportedly for more than £103 million.
Proximo has said it no longer plans to use Mr McGregor’s name and likeness in the marketing of the brand.
In a statement, a spokesman for Musgrave said: “Musgrave can confirm these products are no longer available to our store network.”
The network includes SuperValu, Centra, Daybreak and Mace.
A Tesco spokesperson said: “We can confirm that we are removing Proper No Twelve Whiskey from sale in Tesco stores and online.”
It is understood that other retail outlets including Costcutter and Carry Out will also stop stocking products linked to Mr McGregor.
Meanwhile, popular specialist independent off-licence, The Vineyard, located on Belfast’s Ormeau Road, confirmed it will no longer be selling any products associated with the Dublin fighter.
On Monday, a popular video game developer decided to pull content featuring the MMA fighter.
The Irish athlete has featured in multiple video games, including voice-acting a character bearing his likeness in additional downloadable content in the Hitman series.
Mr McGregor’s character featured as a target for the player-controlled assassin in the game.
IO Interactive, the Danish developer and publisher of Hitman, said in a statement: “In light of the recent court ruling regarding Conor McGregor, IO Interactive has made the decision to cease its collaboration with the athlete, effective immediately.
“We take this matter very seriously and cannot ignore its implications.
“Consequently, we will begin removing all content featuring Mr McGregor from our storefronts starting today.”
Last Friday, the High Court jury awarded damages amounting to 248,603.60 euros (around £206,000) to Ms Hand.
Mr McGregor made no comment as he left court but later posted on social media that he intended to appeal against the decision.
Meanwhile, Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said it would be “helpful” for the Republic’s Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to provide clarity on the decision to not take an allegation against Mr McGregor to a criminal trial.
It came as hundreds of people marched in solidarity with Ms Hand in Dublin on Monday evening, after she won her civil case against the MMA fighter.
“I think she deserves – and I think women more broadly deserve – the absolute reassurance that the DPP has really interrogated this matter correctly and has taken the correct course of action,” Ms McDonald said.
A spokesperson for the DPP said it does not comment on individual cases, but that documents on general considerations for decisions to prosecute are available on its website.
