Eire coach Johnny Sexton says on-line abuse directed at debutant Edwin Edogbo may have marred a special occasion for him and his household.
Munster second row Edogbo was focused on social media after approaching as a substitute in Saturday’s 20-13 Six Nations victory over Italy in Dublin.
The 23-year-old was born and raised in Cobh, County Cork to Nigerian dad and mom.
“It’s horrible to see in this day and age that it still can exist like that,” Sexton advised reporters forward of Eire’s Six Nations journey to England.
“In terms of how is he? I think he’s good, I don’t think he would have paid too much attention to it and I don’t know if he would have even seen most of it.
“He is a reasonably humble man, actually level-headed, nevertheless it’s not proper a number of the feedback that have been made.
“I feel for him, I feel for his family, which marred a pretty special day for him.”
Edogbo, who warn born in Cork to Nigerian dad and mom, gained his first Eire cap towards Italy
Investigation ongoing into ‘cowardly’ racist abuse
Edogbo performed the ultimate 10 minutes towards Italy after approaching for James Ryan.
He obtained an enormous cheer from the Aviva Stadium crowd earlier than serving to Andy Farrell’s aspect maintain on for victory throughout a nail-biting finale.
However posts on the IRFU’s X and Instagram accounts celebrating Edogbo’s first cap attracted a variety of racist feedback.
In an announcement, an Irish Rugby Soccer Union spokesperson stated: “We’re aware of some targeted abuse online in recent days and continue to work with Signify (a data technology company which specialises in protecting against online abuse) and the relevant authorities to report it.
“We may even proceed to totally assist all affected by the cowardly actions of a minority and investigations are underway alongside our companions Signify.
“It is clear that racist abuse has no place in Irish society and the IRFU has a zero tolerance policy towards racism of any form.”
Eire’s 2026 Six Nations fixtures
All occasions UK and Eire
- France 36-14 Eire (Thursday February 5) – Stade de France, Paris
- Eire 20-13 Italy (Saturday February 14) – Aviva Stadium, Dublin
- vs England (Saturday February 21) – Allianz Stadium, Twickenham (2.10pm)
- vs Wales (Friday March 6) – Aviva Stadium, Dublin (8.10pm)
- vs Scotland (Saturday 14 March) – Aviva Stadium, Dublin (2.10pm)
