Coleraine FC has launched an investigation after loyalists chanted ‘F**k the Pope and Virgin Mary’ and sang UVF songs at an event held in its social club at the weekend.
The PSNI has said they are treating the incident as a “sectarian-motivated hate incident”.
The Irish Football Association said on Tuesday it has “raised the matter directly with the club” adding that it stands “against all forms of discrimination”.
Footage circulated on social media shows a Scottish loyalist band playing a hate-filled sectarian melody at Coleraine FC Social Club on Saturday.
In a separate clip a woman can also be seen and heard on stage singing a song glorifying the UVF, which was responsible for hundreds of sectarian murders during the Troubles.
The recordings were made hours after thousands of loyalists attended an Apprentice Boys parade in Derry on Saturday.
During the event Glasgow based Pride of the North Flute Band led a loyalist mob in a sectarian chorus that included ‘No Pope of Rome’.
The sectarian anthem includes the words “No, no Pope of Rome, no chapels to sadden my eyes, no nuns and no priests, no Rosary beads, every day is the Twelfth of July.”
If you can’t see the video below, click here.
Some by-standers sang the sectarian lyrics while others can be seen waving union flags and raising their arms in the air.
Some of those present can also be heard chanting “f**k the Pope and the Virgin Mary”.
Footage has also emerged of a female performer singing a song glorifying the UVF at the packed venue.
In a statement Coleraine FC said it has been made aware of videos circulating on social media “of a private function held in the social club”.
“While the club does not oversee activities that occur during private functions, we are conducting an investigation with the organisers of the event and will review our hire policy,” it said.
“Coleraine Football Club will make no further comment.”
The club has been asked if it condemns the sectarian and other offensive music played at the event and if the organisers will be allowed to use the venue in future.
On its website Coleraine FC says it “fully endorses the Irish Football Association’s Community Relations Policy Statement which respects and values diversity”.
The club also says it endorses “UEFA’s 10 Point Plan to tackle racism and sectarianism”.
One of the north’s highest profile soccer clubs, Coleraine won the Irish Cup in 2018. The Co Derry club has ambitious plans to upgrade its facilities at the Showgrounds, where it is based.
Earlier this year, DUP sports minister Gordon Lyons, who is originally from Coleraine, visited the club to hear about plans to “modernise the club’s facilities in partnership with local stakeholders and the potential impact of the Sub-Regional Stadia Programme” - which provides funding to soccer clubs.
The Department for Communities did not respond when asked if it has any comment to make.
A spokeswoman for the PSNI said: “Police are aware of a video circulating online.
“Enquiries into the circumstances surrounding the content of the video are ongoing.
“This is being treated as a sectarian-motivated hate incident.”
