Mica activist Paddy Diver has called for fans of the Bohemians football club to be condemned for chants that appeared to reference crumbling homes in Donegal.
The Social Democrats spokesperson on sports Gary Gannon also called the chanting “disgraceful” as he called for the club to make a statement on the matter.
Donegal side Finn Harps were playing Bohs in Dublin last Friday.
Videos of Dublin fans chanting “you’re going down with your houses” at the travelling Donegal delegation were later shared online.
Mr Diver asserted that this is in relation to the ongoing mica problem in the country that is causing thousands of homes to crumble.
Deputy Gannon described the chanting as “Thatcherism” and said that Bohs fans chanting at Finn Harps fans about “Government failures” was “unbecoming”.
He told The Mirror: “It is not representative of the culture of Bohs, who have always been quite progressive. It is representative of a backward style of chanting.
“It is Thatcherism to take a social issue and chant it at your opponent.
"Bohemians represent something more than that. The fans are chanting about failures in housing and failures in regulation.
“That should be kept away from the terraces.
“Bohs absolutely need to come out and say something about this. Bohemians have presented themselves as being a football club that is in touch with progressive issues. Where they fail in that regard, they need to be self-reflective.
“I condemned any kind of Thatcherist chanting.”
Mr Diver told the Irish Mirror that the action needs to be condemned by the Government.
He noted that there was widespread condemnation of the Republic of Ireland’s women’s football team when they were videoed singing a song containing the lyrics “ooh ah up the Ra”.
A similar response was needed in this instance, he said.
“Two wrongs don’t make a right, but if I was there, I would have found it very hard to restrain myself," Mr Diver said.
“It is absolutely scandalous.
“The club has been inundated with emails from people in Donegal and they have not condemned this.
“The Irish women’s football team went out and sang a Celtic Song and everyone jumped on the one verse. They said ‘Up the ‘Ra’.
“Our Taoiseach [Micheál Martin] was even talking about it.
“Nobody has come out and condemned this.”
Bohemians did not respond to requests for comment.
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