MARTIN Compston has rejected claims made across media outlets that he sang a sectarian song during a Celtic party in the US.
Reports claimed the Scottish actor had been singing about the IRA at a North American Celtic Supporters Federation (NACSF) event in Las Vegas on Wednesday night.
Video posted online claimed to show the Greenock-born star on stage alongside fellow actor Gianni Capaldi, as well as former Celtic players Alan Thompson and Bobby Petta, as fans in the crowd sang: "It's the I-I-I-IRA".
However, writing on Twitter, Compston “unequivocally” rejected that to have been the case.
The actor said he had been singing along to Daniel Boone's hit song Beautiful Sunday.
He said: “Not best pleased to wake up to a story eight hours ahead of me before I've had the right to reply. Let me be absolutely clear, I unequivocally did not sing ANY sectarian songs. I've worked in Belfast too long to see damage done to think this stuff is a laugh.
“If people want to change lyrics to a song that's sung at Celtic Park, weddings, Still Game wherever that's up to them I'm not the lyric police.
“If it was an IRA song and I was onstage bobbing along I would understand the story but I'm pretty sure Daniel Boone had nothing more than Beautiful Sundays in mind when he wrote the song and that's what I was singing.”
— martin compston (@martin_compston) June 16, 2022
The Line of Duty star has in the past been vocal in his criticism of sectarianism, including calling out one Twitter troll who branded him a “Fenian c***”. The same man had shared comments calling for an end to “bigotry in football”.
Compston pointed out that the “bold” man was so concerned with discrimination in football – “unless you’re a Catholic of course”.
