Euro 2020: Ireland basketball chief apologises for offensive tweet on Raheem Sterling after England’s semi-final win-Sports News , Firstpost

England’s Raheem Sterling celebrates his side’s 2-1 win over Denmark at the end of the Euro 2020 semi-final at the Wembley Stadium. AP

Dublin: The chief executive of Ireland’s basketball federation has apologised for an offensive social media post about England football player Raheem Sterling.

Bernard O’Byrne wrote “BLACK DIVES MATTER!!!” in response to a BBC Facebook post about the controversial penalty won by Sterling in England’s 2-1 victory over Denmark in the European Championship semi-finals.

The penalty was awarded by the referee in extra time. A video review of the incident confirmed the decision.

“My choice of words commenting on a penalty incident were not thought out,” O’Byrne said in a statement issued by Basketball Ireland late Thursday. “It was an error of judgement and I wholeheartly apologise for the comments.”

The governing body said O’Byrne had made the comment from his personal account and that the post has since been deleted.

“Basketball Ireland would like to stress its ongoing commitment to inclusion and basketball’s diverse community, which has been led by Mr. O’Byrne in recent years,” the federation said in Thursday’s statement.