Wrexham winger James McClean has been told to apologise after calling Shrewsbury a ‘cesspit full of inbreds’.
Ex-Republic of Ireland international McClean, 35, made the derogatory comment after Wrexham lost 2-1 to League One rivals Shrewsbury Town.
The EFL have confirmed they are investigating crowd incidents which occurred during the derby.
At one point stewards formed a barricade as McClean went to take a throw-in in front of the home fans at The Croud Meadow.
Objects were thrown from the stands at McClean and play was briefly halted before order was restored.
Following the game, McClean called Shrewsbury a ‘cesspit full of inbreds’ in a post that he later deleted.
Resharing a video showing Shrewsbury fans targeting him with chants and objects, McClean said: ‘In fairness if I was born and raised in Shrewsbury I’d probably be this angry as well because it’s an absolute cesspit full of inbreds.’
Reacting to McClean’s comment, former Sky Sports presenter Jeff Stelling said on talkSPORT: ‘He needs to apologise. He needs to make a public apology.
‘You can’t have a player saying that about anybody. Those teams are arch-rivals, he’s going to get some stick because of what he does. He’s used to getting stick, he gets it everywhere he goes!
‘He simply cannot say that sort of thing. If he doesn’t apologise I think the FA need to take some sort of action.’
Ex-Scotland striker Ally McCoist added: ‘I’m with you totally.
‘You can’t be doing that, it’s as simple as that. No matter what stick you get – and I know he gets a lot – you can’t react like that.’
McClean joined Wrexham in 2023 having previously played for EFL clubs Wigan Athletic, Stoke City, West Brom and Sunderland.
Wrexham boss Phil Parkinson said his player was ‘fine’ after the incidents against Shrewsbury Town and was ‘used to’ the abuse.
‘He’s fine,’ Parkinson told Sky Sports. ‘James is used to it wherever he goes.
‘Fans get on his back home and away and sometimes it can be tough and spill over but he is used to it.’
Wrexham confirmed the EFL were ‘investigating’ the ‘crowd incidents’ which occurred at the The Croud Meadow.
They said: ‘Wrexham AFC are aware of the crowd incidents at Thursday’s match between Shrewsbury Town and Wrexham AFC, currently under investigation by the EFL.
‘We will be making no further comment at this stage.’
Wrexham’s surprise defeat to relegation-battlers Shrewsbury Town saw them lose ground on League One promotion rivals Wycombe and Birmingham.
‘We’ve handed them two goals with two mistakes,’ Parkinson told BBC Radio Wales.
‘When you give a team in a frenetic derby atmosphere two huge lifts it gives them something to hold onto.
‘We’ve scored and got back in the game and then the sloppy moment costs us the penalty. This season we’ve been solid and secure in our defensive display.
‘We spoke before the game about making sure the basics were in place, and it has cost us by making those mistakes.’
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